


Black Pearls and Glass Walls

by Tinuviel_Undomiel



Series: Black Pearls and Glass Walls [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Rumbelle - Fandom
Genre: Attempted Rape, F/M, Oops, Violence, some torture, this was supposed to be a fluffy story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-18 22:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4723022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinuviel_Undomiel/pseuds/Tinuviel_Undomiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repeatinglitanies prompted: In a world where people are aware of the existence of mermaids, Belle is a mermaid who lives in the world’s largest aquarium along with other sea creatures. She enjoys looking at the little humans who come to visit, especially a floofy haired boy who comes every week with his father….</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn’t resist, and since I haven’t written anything in weeks, I thought I would just let the muse win this round.

 

The newest attraction at The Enchanted Forest: A World of Mystical Creatures was a massive hit. The hydra had been quite a draw and had audiences dying to see more rare and aquatic creatures, previously believed to have been myth. Now the theme park had a new, more peculiar site for the public to feast their eyes on: mermaids.

            “Its merfolk,” Nathan Gold’s son, Bae informed him once he had made the grievous error of calling them that. “Only the girls are called mermaids.”

            “Are you sure you want to see those first?” Gold asked, “What about the dragon? Or the griffons? Wouldn’t those be more exciting?”

            “We’ll see those, but I want to see the merfolk. What if one of them saved you?”

            “I told you, I was hallucinating.” The plane crash had been three years ago and Bae still refused to believe that it had been luck that had spared his father from watery grave. He only had the hazy memory of a pair of light blue eyes on a lovely face, framed by brown curls. The woman his mind had conjured as he was drifting towards death had not only stayed with him, but his boy as well. Bae insisted ever since that a mermaid must have rescued his father.

            “What if she was real?” he asked yet again.

            “She wasn’t.”

            “You don’t know that,” Bae said, “people used to think merfolk weren’t real either, but they are.”

            There was no point in arguing with his ten-year-old son. Gold sighed and shook his head, shifting the weight off his bad ankle with his cane. “Alright, let’s go see the mermaids.”

            “Its merfolk,” Bae said again.

* * *

 

            It was a small sea with glass walls that Belle was now forced to call home. A few months ago some men with a net and strange device called a syringe had plucked her out of the warm waters close to the land of Australia and brought her to this odd place. It was designed to look like a lagoon, but the land was completely unnatural. The plants on the false rock didn’t feel like the plants she was used to, they also didn’t need water or even sunlight. Sand coated the bottom of the lagoon, along with seaweed and coral. Fish populated the waters. There were even caves made from the same odd rocks. Her companions would hide in the caves when the humans came to inspect them.

            “This is horrible, Belle,” Snow whispered in the dark when all of the humans were gone, “What if we never return to the see?”

            “Do they expect us to just entertain the humans all day?” David had wondered, “What are we supposed to do?”

            Belle had no answers for her friends. There were five of them in all, herself, Snow, David, Aurora and Philip. At least the four of them had each other. Belle’s father was still in the ocean, along with Gaston, though he wasn’t much of a loss.

            It really wasn’t so bad living in the glass-walled lagoon. She had always found the human world fascinating and had wanted to observe them more, but her father had never allowed it. She tried not to think about how worried he must be. It helped when she focused on watching the humans.

            Her only interaction with humans before was brief. A strange boat with two fins had fallen into the ocean. Belle had found one of the humans struggling against the ocean, desperate to live. Something has pieced one of his bottom limbs. Legs, that’s what humans had instead of tails, legs. The poor man couldn’t make it, not without help. Her father had told her as a child, “Let the humans be. They are monstrous and will only harm you in the end. It is better to let the ocean claim them.”

            She couldn’t do it in the end. He was near death already when she had brought him to the surface and to the closest piece of shore. He had opened his eyes for just a moment when she had cupped his face. They were a dark brown, unlike any creature she had ever seen before. His hair had been long too, streaked with grey like driftwood. He had reached for her for a moment, but then went back to sleep. More humans had come then, so Belle had to make a quick escape back to the ocean.

            Belle had returned to the land the next day and found a treasure in the sand: a gold ring with a lovely blue stone. She had no idea if it had belonged to the man or not, but she liked to think it did. She had made a string of black pearls to wear with it around her neck. Her friends back home had thought she was mad and her father had been furious, but she didn’t care. She often would go back to that beach to see if he was there. That was how the humans had found her at last.

            Perhaps she should be afraid of the humans, but most of them seemed harmless. Yes the people who had poked and prodded at them before weren’t very nice, but the visitors that waved at them through the glass seemed perfectly nice.

            The young humans were particularly charming. They always smiled when she waved back or flipped her tail at them at the surface so they were splashed with seawater. Her friends didn’t want to play games with them like she did. Sometimes Snow would wave at the little humans, but Aurora and Philip always remained in the shadows.

            One boy had just arrived, both hands plastered to the glass walls. Belle swam up and waved at him, her hair wafting around her. The boy waved back then gestured for someone to come along and see.

* * *

 

“Papa, come on,” Bae called out with the impatience ever child had when they wanted their parent to be just as excited as they were.

            “You know I can’t move as fast as you, Bae,” Gold reminded him.

            “But she’s going back to the others, you’re going to miss her.”

            “I’m sure she’ll be back.” Gold finished the walk up the ramp to the exhibit. There was another ramp on the side that appeared to lead to the surface where they could see the mermaids—merfolk, when they were above the water.

            There was one mermaid he saw with a white tail and long black hair. Her skin was pale like seafoam. She looked at them with wide eyes, darting quickly towards a merman with a green tail who put one arm around her shoulders.

            “They don’t seem very friendly,” Gold said.

            “The other one was,” Bae told him.

            “Which one?” He could see two more hiding back in one of the little caves. Really, what was the point in having this attraction when they creatures didn’t want to interact with them? These things could talk? Couldn’t they be taught to actually swim around rather than hide?

            “There she is!” Bae cried, “The pretty one with a blue tail.” He pointed to another mermaid who was breaking back from the top of the water.

            She had one of the artificial flowers clutched in her hands as she made her way back towards him. Her tail was light blue with shimmery scales that sparkled in the light from the tank. She was much livelier than her companions, swirling around in the water, her brown hair fluttering behind her. She came closer; waving at them, but then froze.

            Gold stared back into her blue eyes, large and full of wonder. He remembered those eyes.

            “Papa,” Bae gasped, “Isn’t that your ring?” He pointed to the necklace of black pearls around her pretty neck. At the center was his grandfather’s ring. He had thought it was nestled at the bottom of the ocean, lost forever due to that plane crash.

            He looked up at her face. Her pink lips were parted as if in a gasp. Slowly, she reached out and pressed one of her small hands on the glass. Gold found himself stepping forward until he stood directly in front of her. He dropped his cane as he reached up to put his hand on the glass, directly over hers.

            “You’re real,” he whispered. His mystery rescuer, the one who had continued to haunt him in his dreams, the one he was certain had been some figment of his oxygen deprived mind, was real.

            She was real, but as he felt the cool glass warm beneath his skin, she was still out of reach.


	2. Of Land and Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On land, Bae and Gold are both eager to learn more about merfolk and particularly one mermaid. On Sea, Belle is wondering over the man she saved and if she will see him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You asked and I delivered. 
> 
> Anonymous said:  
> Gold researches mermaids after the incident and is surprised by what he finds.
> 
> luna-myth said:  
> Gold and Bae attempt to learn more about Belle and the circumstances of her capture through official channels for the Mermaid verse?
> 
> Anonymous said:  
> The other merfolk notice how distracted Belle had become since the floofy haired boy and his father visited.

            Bae was normally an active boy. He loved to play outside with his basketball or go swimming in the pool in the backyard. But his son had chosen to barricade himself in the library for the day the moment he had finished breakfast. Gold might have thought he had received another letter from his mother telling him she wasn’t coming by for another visit this month, but that usually had his son closeting himself in his bedroom. Besides, no letter had arrived and he checked Bae’s email just to be sure.

            At noon, he brought Bae’s lunch with him into the library. “Bae, it’s time for lunch.”

            “Uh huh,” he said from behind his book.

            Gold set the tray down on the table. “It’s your favorite, grilled ham and cheese.”

            “Uh huh.”

            He had no choice but to tap on the book to get his attention. “It’s lunch.”

            “Oh, sorry, Papa.”

            “What are you reading anyways?”

            Bae flipped it around so he could see the cover. _Magical Creatures Encyclopedia for Kids,_ but it was opened to the section detailing mermaids. “Find anything interesting?” Gold asked.

            “No, it’s kids stuff,” he said, “It talks more about fairy tales rather than merfolk.”

            “I see.”

            “I found this book.” Bae tossed aside his encyclopedia for a thick, leather-bound tome. He grunted as he lifted it up to hand it to his father.

“ _The Realm of Myths and Mythical Creatures by Dr. T.H. Pettigrew_ ,” Gold read.

“Yeah, I couldn’t understand some of what he was saying,” Bae said.

“I imagine so.” The writer obviously assumed his readers would be Nobel Prize worthy geniuses and not curious little boys. “You really want to know more about that mermaid, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, she saved your life.”

            Gold nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is natural to want to learn more about her and her kind.”

            “Can we go see her again?”

            “Possibly,” he said, passing Bae his lunch again.

            “She’s really pretty, Papa. I think she recognized you too. Why do you think she kept your ring?”

            “I really wouldn’t know.” It was something he’d been questioning ever since he saw it around her neck. She had definitely remembered him. Had he made that much of an impression? Strange since he had been a drowning man with a wounded ankle, not exactly a handsome prince from the story. Maybe she just thought it was a pretty bauble. She probably never knew it was his.

            “How about I set up another session with Dr. Hopper tonight?” Gold asked Bae.

            Bae swallowed a hefty bite of sandwich. “Why? I haven’t seen him in year.”

            “I know, but you just seem really invested in this. It worries me, is all.”

            “I’m fine.”

            “Son, you’ve been looking up mermaids and articles about them all day.”

            “Well how else am I going to find out about her?” Bae asked, “She saved you, Papa. You would have died if she hadn’t been there. I need to know more about her. I need to find a way to thank her.”

            Gold’s mouth dropped open. It hadn’t occurred to him how Bae would feel in that regard. He was trying to conceal his own thoughts on the matter, but his son didn’t have his guile. He had no ability to hide his own curiosity and need to now more, to answer the questions they had both had for the past three years.

            “Finish your lunch,” he said, “I’ll see if I can find some more informative books.”

* * *

 

            It was the evening, which meant soon the merfolk, would be brought their meal of seaweed, clams and crab claws. The human visitors had slowed to a trickle. Mostly the creatures in the park were left to themselves unless the staff was instructed to tend to their needs. Belle broke through the surface of the water to seat herself among the waxy grass that grew from the rocks along the banks of their little lagoon. Her fingers toyed with the ring on her necklace of black pearls. His ring. She was certain of that now.

            She had looked at every face that peered at them through the waters, wondering if it would be him or the inquisitive boy that must have been his son. She hadn’t thought about that when she had forced the ocean to spare him. He had a family, a child to care for. How many other humans had families that they could have saved had not her father decreed that the ocean claim what victims it desired?

            The harsh buzzing sound came to alert them all that their meal had arrived. It was the same short man with a fur covering the bottom of his face. He was whistling like a bird as he walked in.

            “Here you go, fellas,” he said, dumping the contents of the bucket onto the rocks. “Dig in.”

            The others all burst out of the lagoon to take their share of the spoils. David made sure everyone had an equal portion of each, but Belle made no move to touch her share. She slipped off her necklace of pearls and stared into the milky blue stone. She had wanted to see him again, but never really thought she would. Certainly she never dreamed of seeing him while trapped behind a glass wall.

            “Belle?” she heard Snow’s voice in her mind. “Aren’t you hungry?”

            Snow had a clam for her in her outstretched hand. Belle slipped her pearls back over her head before she took the clam. “Thank you.”

            “You seem upset over something. I thought you weren’t scared of this place like Aurora. You seem to enjoy it a little.”

            “I like seeing the humans,” Belle said, “but I do miss home too.”

            Snow nodded. “But something is different. You’ve been acting strange since yesterday.”

            “I’m alright,” she replied, “It’s just…”

            “Just what?” Snow asked.

            Somehow, Belle wasn’t sure how to tell her friend what had happened. She had never told anyone about the man she saved. Her father would have been furious. None of her friends back home would have understood either. Humans were frightening, destructive creatures, they wouldn’t understand how helpless he had looked as he had tried to fight to his way back to his world.

            “I’m just homesick,” she said. She took a rock to pry the clam open, letting it rest at that. She wished there was someone else she could talk to about all of this, but she knew that wouldn’t work either. Who she really wanted to talk to wasn’t Snow or even her father, it was the man with the brown eyes who had looked at her with such wonder.

* * *

 

            Dove brought him the file after dinner. Bae was already in bed, so Gold took his glass of scotch and settled down in his study for a long read. Most of the information about the merfolk was public knowledge, though copies of the actual reports were not easily as accessible. But Gold had pull with a few government officials; it was simple enough to get one of them to release a copy to him.

            There was a lot of drivel over how the government had suspected the existence of merfolk for several years. There was even a murky picture taken of a mermaid carrying what looked like a tiny baby, but it wasn’t clear if it was real or a hoax, which is why it wasn’t released.

            Two years ago was when the first definitive evidence of merfolk was discovered. Fishermen off the coast of Africa snared one in their nets and proudly displayed their prize to the world. It was male they had found who was eventually studied by scientists and released to an enclosure in Florida. After that, the chase was one to find more. Now there were exactly seventeen living specimens around the world, five of who lived in Maine.

            He scanned through the capture reports, grateful that they included pictures as well. MER-08 was the one he was looking for. She was found off the coast of Australia thirteen months ago, close to the Cape of York. That was right around the area where she must have brought him after the crash. Did she live around there? Had she gone back to see if she could find him? Unfortunately the document couldn’t tell him that.

            She was transported to Hong Kong for studying. The thought of scientists poking and prodding at her caused a knot to form in his stomach. Had they hurt her? She must have been frightened, being plucked from her home and put into a glass cage where she was treated like a lab animal.

            Eventually, it was decided for her to be released to the public with Mill’s Corp obtaining ownership of her and putting her in their new exhibit in Maine along with four others of her kind.

            The report on her ended there.

            There were more details about her species, how the scientists theorized they had some form of communication similar to dolphins. They didn’t appear to speak, despite their physiology being quite similar to humans, at least from the navel up. Their lungs functioned both as mammalian, accounting for how they could breath above water, but they also worked to filter oxygen in the water, sort of like internal gills. It was currently unknown how they reproduced, but they saw no evidence that the females laid eggs. It was believed they the females carried and produced their young much like other aquatic mammals.

            All in all, Gold thought they weren’t so different from whales and other sea creatures. But how human were they? They had yet to discover where the merfolk inhabited or if they had any function of language or skill sets. Most still saw them as animals, not half-human.

            Gold finished his scotch and put the report aside. He might believe she was nothing more than a strange whale or sea lion who just happened to have a human face. But it was black pears she wore around her neck with his ring that told a very different story. The look in her eyes when she saw him, the way she smiled. She was no marine animal doing tricks; she was an intelligent creature just like himself.

            He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Dove’s number. “Get me what you can about Mill’s Corp and that theme park,” he said, “I want to know how they treat their exhibits and just who is in charge of everything there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think. Feel free to prompt me here or on tumblr at http://tinuviel-undomiel.tumblr.com


	3. Unlikely Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bae sneaks into the aquarium to speak with Belle and later Gold finally has a chat with her too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kacymyth said:  
> Belle ponders ways to communicate with the humans. Perhaps she's picked up some English from the aquarium staff?
> 
> thestraggletag said:  
> Mermaid!Rumbelle: People thought mermaids weren't capable of speech... until Belle goes and talks to Gold, and suddenly she's taken away and poked and prodded till it becomes clear Belle will talk only to those she wishes to.

            Belle had always known that humans communicated by their mouths instead of using internal speaking the way her kind did. It was something she had been taught as a child that humans were little better than vicious beasts with loud, obnoxious voices, incapable of understanding the beauty of calm and silence. It was one night when she was younger and decided to brave the waters close to a human habitat when she first heard human voices. The humans had schooled into one area on the land and there were a lot of strange, colorful lights. Some sort of shelf was set up and a smaller group of humans were set on it and were holding strange objects. Sounds came from the humans on the shelf, sounds not unlike the songs of the whales but more melodic. She wound up listening for hours, enjoying the human voices and songs.

            It was really what started her interest in humans and why she found herself intrigued by their communication now. Every time the human workers came to clean and inspect their little lagoon and check on them, she would listen to their speech, fascinated by how their mouths formed such strange words and sounds.

            She had tried out a few words above the surface herself, mostly what she heard from humans in boats; “damn fish” “god-damned bastard” and “fuck off” were some of the most common phrases she heard while following boats. She wasn’t entirely sure what they meant. A part of her wanted to ask, but she didn’t even know how to begin talking to a human.

            So instead she listened as the one called “Leroy” complained to his friend “Walter” about how the “big man was screwing the little man.” She could understand their words well enough, but the meaning was very strange. It was a shame that she couldn’t learn more about humans and their vernacular. Unfortunately, no merfolk had ever tried to bridge the gap between land and sea for centuries.

            Leroy and Walter left to move on to their next project, but Belle was surprised when she heard more footsteps coming towards the lagoon. “Hello?” a small voice whispered, “Hello? Are you there?”

            Belle peered up from behind the shield of her rock. It was the boy, the one who must be _his_ son.

            “Hello? I just want to talk to you if that’s okay. Hello?”

            There was no reason to be afraid. Not only was he just a child, but also she was safe in her little lagoon. Yet her heart continued to pound away. He wouldn’t hurt her; she knew that. It was just…what would she say to him?

            Slowly, she slid away from her rock and drifted towards the edge of the lagoon where the boy was. “Oh,” he said when he saw her, “Hello.”

            Belle smiled at him and gave him a little wave. The boy smiled back at her. “I’m Bailey Gold,” he said, “But you can call me Bae. You’re name is Lacey, right?”

            She frowned at him and shook her head. Lacey? Why would he think that was her name?

            “Oh, well that sign over there says your name is Lacey,” he pointed to a large display with small images of her and her friends. She couldn’t read the words so she took his word as truth.

            “Belle,” she said, pointing to her self, “I am Belle.”

            Bae’s brown eyes brightened. “You do talk then.”

            “I practice,” she said.

            “How do you talk with your friends? Underwater, I mean.”

            She smiled at him. He was so curious and innocent in his questions. It was nothing like the strange people in the white coats who had examined her and made speculations. “You use your…” she stopped and pointed to her lips.

            “Mouth?” Bae supplied.

            “Yes,” she said, “We use our…” she pointed to her head.

            “Minds?” Bae supplied.

            “Yes.”

            “Whoa! That is so cool! You’re like Professor X!”

            “Who?”

            Bae just laughed and said, “I’ll bring some comic books next time.”

            Belle gasped. “Human objects? I have always like those. What are those metal tube…things? They go with broken boats. Have big round rocks.”

            “Oh, I think you mean cannons,” Bae said, “Oh those are so cool. I mean, especially on pirate ships. Hey! Have you found any pirate treasure?”

            “What is that?” Belle asked.

            “Oh, you know, chests of gold and stuff.”

            “Yes. There is gold, but gold not treasure.”

            “Really? What is treasure then?”

            “Something sp—spe--ecial to you,” she said. It was hard pronounce some words. She would have to pay more attention to how the humans speak.

            “Like that?” Bae pointed to her necklace of black pearls and the ring that was the most valuable part of it.

            Belle looked down, instinct forcing her to cover the ring. She remembered when they had first brought her to that awful place with the men in the white coats. They had wanted to take her necklace from her then. It was the only time she’d really fought them. They could pluck her out of the ocean, but they wouldn’t take the only thing she valued.

            “I really want to thank you,” Bae said.

            “Thank me?” she questioned.

            “For saving my father.” Bae looked down at the ring on her necklace and then looked back at her. “It was really scary when he was in the crash, and when I heard how close he came to dying…I don’t know what would have happened to me if he had died.”

            Belle stared at the ring. What was there to say? She didn’t know how a human would respond in a situation like this. In her world she would have accepted his gratitude along with his offering, but be sure to only accept half to convey proper respect, and serve as a reminder to all that everyone should be gracious. However, it was clear humans did not give out offerings.

            “Hey!” a gruff voice called out. It was Walter, giving Bae a furious look. “What are you doing here, kid? It’s after hours.”

            “I was just talking to Belle,” he told him.

            “I don’t know who Belle is, but come on. You can’t be in here.”

            “But I needed too—.” Walter pushed Bae out the door. All Belle could do was give him a small wave in goodbye.

* * *

            It was a miracle Gold didn’t crash his car on his mad dash to the Enchanted Forest. The phone call had come to his shop just before he was closing. “Your son is here at the aquarium, please come get him at once.”

            Apparently Bae had taken a detour from his trip to Grace’s house.

            He had never been more terrified in his life, even when the plane was taking its nosedive into the Indian Ocean. How had Bae gotten here? Good God, had he taken a taxi? Or the city bus? Didn’t the public transportation system care that a child was traveling alone?

            He hurried into the lobby and asked for directions to the main office. Bae was sitting in a chair with his Spider-Man backpack on his lap. “Papa?” he said when he saw his father open the door.

            “Bae!” he cried out, tanking him out the chair and pulling him to his chest. “What were you thinking? Are you alright? Are you hurt? How did you get here? Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?”

            “Which one of those am I supposed to answer first?” Bae asked.

            There was a throaty chuckle from across the room. “I must say your son has a good wit.”

            Gold kept one hand on Bae’s shoulder and met the eyes of the stranger across the room. He was a tall, African American wearing a suit almost as expensive as his own. “May I ask, who are you?”

            “Sidney Glass, I’m the director of the aquarium here at Enchanted Forest.” He held out one hand for Gold to shake.

            “Nathan Gold, this is my son, Bailey. I’m sorry for all of this.”

            “No, it’s quite all right, these sorts of things happen. Last month we had a group of drunk college students break in to try and steal one of the dragons.”

            “Well, I’m glad my son had more sense than that.” He tapped Bae on his shoulder. “Now apologize to Mr. Glass for sneaking in to his aquarium.”

            “I’m sorry, Mr. Glass,” Bae said in the same glum attitude children say when they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

            “Thank you, just remember to come back during our visiting hours for now on,” Glass told him.

            “Come on, Bae, let’s go home.”

            “No, wait!” Bae shouted, “You need to see her, Papa.”

            “See who?”

            “Belle!”

            Gold looked at Glass for an answer, but he only shook his head. “Who are you talking about, Bae?”

            “The mermaid, the one who saved you, her name is Belle.”

            “Ah yes,” Sidney said, “Your son has been insisting that he carried a conversation with one of the mermaids. He has a vivid imagination.”

            “I’m not lying, I talked to her,” his son insisted, pleading at him with his little eyes, “She told me her name is Belle and that your ring is her treasure.”

            “Her what?” he asked. Treasure? What could she possibly mean by that?

            Sidney shook his head again. “I already told you, son, the mermaids can’t talk. We’ve tried communicating with them, but it’s quite clear they just lack the intelligence, much like whales and other sea creatures.”

            “She can too talk! She told me that they read each other’s minds when they are under the ocean and that she has found sunken ships and everything!”

            “I’m sorry, son, but we already tested her today and she never said a word to us.”

            “What do you mean by tested her?” Gold asked.

            “Well we sedated her and put her in a private tank,” Sidney explained.

            “You hurt her?” Bae looked at the man the same way an officer would look at a criminal.

            “Not at all, we just tried to stimulate her into responding to our questions.”

            “Stimulate how exactly?” Gold questioned. He put a hand on Bae’s shoulder again, giving it a gentle squeeze.

            Sidney gave him a tight smile. “I’m afraid I’m not allowed to divulge in the care of our animals to guests. Now, I’m afraid I can’t keep my employees here all night. Do come again during our normal hours of operation.”

            “Oh we will,” Gold said, “Come on, Bae, let’s go.”

            Bae slung his backpack on his shoulders, but stopped to give Sidney a truly withering look. “You are not a nice man.”

            “Bae, it’s time to go home,” Gold told him again. Sidney only smiled back at his son the same way a snake would smile at a mouse before dinner.

            Gold kept one hand on his son’s shoulder as they walked out of the office. Meanwhile, he started listing the number of people who could get him information about Sidney Glass and his role in this aquarium.

            “How much trouble am I in, Papa?” Bae asked.

            “More than you ever have before.”

            “Then it’s safe to say you can’t really be more mad at me, right?”

            “I would say so.”

            “Good.” With that said, Bae broke free from his father’s grip and went sprinting down the hallway.

            “Bae!” he called out, hobbling after his son as best as he could with a cane.

            His son ignored his call, racing on past the tank full of _namazus_ and the enclosure for the _lusca_. “Bae, come back here this instant!” He was beginning to sympathize with Mr. Glass.

           He continued to turn the corridor up to the merfolk exhibit, but he wasn’t going to the underwater display, but to the top of the lagoon. He could see the three mermaids all sitting together, the white one had her shoulders around his mermaid. _His?_ Good God, he was losing his mind.

            The other two mermaids both dove back into the water the moment they heard their intruders coming, but the blue one froze when she saw them.

            “Belle! Belle! I brought my dad! He wants to talk to you!”

            “Bae,” he said, “you shouldn’t run off like that!”

            “But don’t you want to talk to Belle?”

            “I…” he stopped. She was looking right at him, floating in the water just in front of the two of them. He didn’t care what Sidney Glass had to say about her intelligence, he could see it in her eyes that she was listening to every word he had to say.

            Gold cleared his throat. “Uh, hello, Belle is it?”

            She nodded once. Good God, she really did understand him. “I’m Nathan Gold.” He held out his hand towards her.

            Belle stared at his hand for a bit, before reaching over to the rock and plucking a clam and placing it into his hand. Gold stared at the wet mollusk resting in his palm while Bae let out an unhelpful giggle.

            “Uh, thank you,” he said, “but I’m not very hungry. Why don’t you take it?”

            “Oh,” she said softly, “Sorry.” She quickly took back the clam and put it back with the rest of the food for her companions.

            “No, that’s quite alright. I suppose you don’t know our customs.” She shook her head at him. “Well this is what we call a handshake. You give me your hand now.”

            Belle blinked at him, but lifted her hand out of the water and put it in his own. He had thought her palm would be cold to the touch, but she was quite warm. Her skin was softer than oiled leather. He had the innate urge pull it up to his mouth and kiss her knuckles like he was some dandy from the eighteenth century.

            Instead, he gave it a little shake. “This is how we say hello,” he said.

            “Oh,” she said gently. Then she moved her other hand out of the water and took his free one. She raised both of their hands with their palms touching until they were level with their shoulders. “This is hello.”

            He could feel some kind of energy flowing from her palms, a warm sensation tingling through his bones and pooling into his stomach. It was a shame when she broke the contact, setting her arms back on the edge of the tank. He rubbed his fingers together, trying to recreate that beautiful feeling.

            “That is quite a hello,” he said.

            “Belle.” Bae came up between the two of them, standing on the little ledge on the floor so he could get a better view of her. “Did they hurt you? That mean man said you were put in another tank.”

            “I am not hurt,” she promised him with a smile.

            “Why didn’t you talk to them the way you talk to us?”

            “We talk to friends,” she said, “We not trust out…out…” she mulled over her words for a second, “outsiders.”

            “So you trust us?” Bae questioned.

            Belle smiled and reached out of her tank to ruffle his hair. “I do.”

            Gold saw the way his son’s face lit up like a birthday candle and wished they could stay longer. But the hour was late and if they lingered much longer they were sure to be caught. “We need to go now, Bae. We don’t want to get Belle in trouble with anyone here.”

            Bae nodded. “We’ll be back, right, Papa?”

            He didn’t hesitate. “Of course we will.” He looked over to Belle. “How do your people say goodbye?”

            She smiled, then pressed her fingers to her lips and touched each of their foreheads in turn. He felt another tingle of energy, this one full of longing and sweet parting. “Goodbye, Belle,” he whispered sadly.

            She gave them one last sweet smile before diving down beneath the surface of the water.

            They walked back to the car in silence. It was late now, well past their dinner hour. “We’ll order a pizza tonight,” Gold said to Bae.

            “Does that mean I’m not in trouble anymore?”

            “Guess again.”

            Still, he decided to give his son one more treat once they got into the car. He pulled out his cellphone and called Dove. “Dove, contact the financial director of the Enchanted Forest,” he said, “Tell them I’m going to give them a substantial donation, but in return, I want exclusive access to the aquarium.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! They finally talked! Please let me know what you think and feel free to prompt me here or on tumblr.


	4. A Debt Owed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle and Gold talk some more and Belle's friends want to know more about the humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: to make things a little easier, when Belle is talking to her mermaid friends it is in italics because they communicate telepathically, when she is actually using her voice it is not in italics.
> 
> moonlight91 said:  
> MermaidRumbelle: How do Belle's friends react to Mr. Gold and Bae always coming over and she starts paying attention to them a bit more than the other humans she interacts?
> 
> woodelf68 said:  
> I was thinking about mermaid!verse, & obviously the next part will be Rum talking to Belle & introducing Bae, & she'll probably tell the others how she saved his life. So maybe after that, the other merfolk might ask her to ask Gold whether he can do anything to free them? Because he owes her.

            Gold received word that his check and his terms had been accepted a few nights later. Bae was still grounded, meaning he could only go to school for the time being. Gold decided to let Dove open the shop that morning, heading straight for the Enchanted Forest in the next town over. He showed his I.D. at the door, taking more than a minimal amount of pleasure as they let him right inside, despite the fact that the place didn’t open for another hour.

            He ignored all of the other exhibits and moved straight to the only one he truly cared about. It was still early, but it surprised him when he didn’t see the merfolk active in their tank. Instead, all five of them were lying on the sandy bottom of their tank. Belle was the one closest to the glass wall, the only one not tangled up with a partner. She was curled up with one hand resting on her stomach, the other pillowing her cheek. Her tail flipped every now and then, perhaps a reaction to her dreaming.

            The average man wouldn’t find watching a mermaid sleep particularly fascinating, but Gold found himself riveted to the spot. She really was so lovely, such a marvel just to look at. As a child he’d imagined mermaids. He’d even had a particular fantasy that his mother had never died but had turned into a mermaid. One day, when he was old enough, she would come and take him away from his father and live with her in the sea.

            Of course as time went on, he had abandoned that dream. He had assumed that was why a tiny part of his mind had wondered if Bae had been right before, that a mermaid had saved him. He still couldn’t quite believe she was real. Yet there she was, sleeping peacefully like some fairy tale princess.

            Everything in the tank seemed calm, but slowly the merfolk began to stir. It was the one with the red tail who first woke up. He looked around the tank, startled when he saw his observer, and then quickly woke up his partner with the pink tail to move her into the caves. The motion caused the others to stir. The merman with the green tail wasn’t quite as flighty as his other two companions, but even he kept a wary eye on him while partially blocking his own partner. Belle sat up, peering at her friends with a puzzled look, before following their gaze to meet his own.

            Her blue eyes lit up and she hurried over to the glass wall, smiling all the while. He swallowed back something building up in his throat, but could do nothing for the way his heart galloped into a new rhythm. Belle pointed up to the surface and he nodded.

            He met her by their little rock where they had spoken before. He saw that her two friends had followed her, but chose to keep their distance.

            “Hello,” Belle said.

            “Hello,” he told her, holding up both of his hands so their palms could touch again in her people’s greeting. That odd warm sensation flooded through him again, cancelling any more nerves he still had.

            “Where is Bae?” she asked, still halting slightly in her speech.

            “Oh, well he’s in school right now. He’s also grounded.”

            “School? With fish?” she asked.

            “Oh no,” he couldn’t help but chuckle, “It’s where he is being educated about…well things associated with our world.”

            She nodded. “What is ground-dead?”

            “He’s being punished because he came here without my permission,” Gold told her, “I’m sure I’ll relent soon enough and let him come back, but don’t tell him I said that.”

            Belle nodded and smiled. “I like you here,” she said.

            It took him a moment to piece together her broken English. “I’m glad I’m here too.” Gold glanced over at the couple watching them from across the lagoon. “Though it looks like your friends aren’t.”

            Belle glanced over her shoulder at them for a while. She must have been saying something to them, but obviously the mind of a mermaid is not a radio. The two of them glanced away, and Belle turned back to him with a sigh. “They do not trust humans,” she told him.

            “I suppose that is understandable,” he said with a nod, “I notice your other two companions rarely leave those caves.

            “Phillip wants to…pro..pro…”

            “Protect?” Gold guessed.

            Belle nodded, “Protect Aurora. She is…is…” Belle let out an irritated sound and struck the water with her fists. “I do not know the word.”

            “Describe her situation then,” Gold told her.

            “Aurora has…” she put both hands on her flat belly, “baby.”

            “Oh, she’s pregnant then.”

            Belle nodded her head. “Yes, that is the word.”

            “Ah,” he said, looking back towards the two on the surface. “Well I suppose I can’t expect to redeem my entire species singlehandedly.”

            She little out a giggle. “We need to know more humans. We just need time.”

            “Time and certainly more consideration for your species,” he said under his breath. His eyes drifted around the lagoon. It was decent enough, but certainly cramped for five merfolk. The caves didn’t really allow for much seclusion either, and with two couples in the tank…well obviously there had to be some awkward moments for Belle.

            Another thought came to him entirely. He knew little of the merfolk, other than these five, but since four of them were couples, did that mean they often lived in pairs. Could Belle have a mate out there in the ocean? He tightened his grip on his cane.

            “Belle,” he said, clearing his throat, “This may seem a bit forward, but do you have a husband missing you right now?”

            She tilted her head, frowning a little. “Hus-band?”

            “A romantic partner, like your companions here.”

            “Oh, a life-mate,” she said, “No, I do not have one.”

            A wave of tension lifted from him at once. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was feeling, but it was something akin to…relief? Yes, he was glad to know there wasn’t a husband in the ocean missing his lost wife. Yes, that was it.

            “That’s good,” he told her, “At least you won’t have that to worry about.”

            She nodded, but there was no relief in her gaze. Instead she toyed with one of the artificial plants. “I worry,” she told him, “my father.”

            “Your father?” he questioned, “Your father is still in the ocean?”

            Belle nodded once.

            “I’m sorry, he must be very worried.”

            “He does not like humans,” she said, “Never liked you.”

            “Well that isn’t very inspiring,” Gold said, “I would offer to send him word that you are all right, but…well mail to the ocean floor isn’t very common.”

            “It is fine,” she said, “I do not like to think on it.”

            “Of course,” he said, “It’s just…” he stopped, his breath catching in his throat.

            “What?” she asked, putting both arms on the rock and leaning towards him.

            “You saved my life,” he told her, “And I can’t ever repay you for that.”

            “Re-pay?”

            “Offer you something equal in return,” he told her.

            “Oh,” she said, “I do not want anything.”

            “No,” he said with a gentle smile, “I didn’t expect you would.” There was one question that had been on his mind since he first saw her again, one he couldn’t ask with Bae present. Now was his chance, but he was almost afraid of the answer.

            “The aquarium will be opening soon,” he said absently, cowardice winning for a moment.

            “More people,” she said.

            “Yes, you’re quite popular, I believe.”

            Belle grinned at that. “I am glad we talk today.”

            “So am I.”

            Now was the perfect time for a goodbye, but the parting words clamped around his throat. He couldn’t leave, not without getting an answer.

            “Why?” the word came out before he could properly phrase. Her puzzled expression was to be expected. “Why did you save me?”

            Her brow smoothed, her lips parting just a bit. Belle looked away, down into the water, her home and sanctuary. Maybe she had no answer. Maybe she wasn’t sure herself. He has just been another creature to her, one flailing in the unforgiving sea. She may have just chosen on a whim to spare him.

            “You don’t have to—.”

            “You wanted life,” she said, then shook her head, “too live…I could not…not let you fight…and not win.”

            “I have a lot to live for,” he said gently.

            “Bae.”

            Gold nodded, “Yes.”

            “Life-mate?” Belle added.

            “No,” he told her, “Just Bae, he was all I ever needed.”

            She smiled at him. “You have much joy.”

            “Yes, because of you,” he told her.

            The side door opened and a short, bald man with a gruff beard came out with a broom and a dustpan. “They’re opening the doors soon, so unless you want to be swarmed by snotty kids, you may want to leave.”

            He shook his head and looked back at Belle. “I better go.”

            Belle put her fingers to her lips and pressed them to his forehead. “Good bye,” she said.

            It was an impulse that he didn’t try to fight. As she pulled her hand away, he took it and pressed his lips to her hand. She let out a gasp, but didn’t yank her hand away.

            “Goodbye, Belle,” he said softly. Very reluctantly, he released her and stepped away. Maybe it was his own wish, but he thought he could feel her eyes following him the entire way before the door shut behind him.

* * *

 

            Snow and David were getting used to being watched. They were willing to wave and smile at the children now, but Belle couldn’t coax Phillip or Aurora to be quite as cordial. It was a little hard to pay attention to their onlookers today. Belle found herself wondering about Gold and little Bae, the two humans who had quickly become so important to her. She kept hoping to see Bae among the faces and spent the rest of the time chiding herself on forgetting that he was ground-ed.

            Gold spoke such strange words. She could understand most of what he said, but she wished she could use his language with such artistic flair like he did. She found herself paying more attention to what the humans said and trying to replicate the sounds of their words. Bae was at a place called “school” (no fish) where he learned about such things. Could Mr. Gold help her like that? Maybe she would ask him when he came back.

            “I don’t want care-ots,” Belle said, “I want peet-za.” The last little girl with a pink dress had said that and she found the words just so fascinating.

            _“Belle?”_ Snow called out for her, the echo sounding in her mind.

            _“Yes?”_

_“What are doing?”_

_“I’m just practicing.”_

Snow swam over and perched herself on the rock next to her. _“Why don’t you come down? You’ve been spending a lot of time on the surface today.”_

            Had she really? Well, she had wanted to learn more of the human language and that required being outside of the water where she could hear it. She had even forgone her noon meal in order to listen to the chatter of all the people. Perhaps she had been neglecting her friends that day.

            _“All right,”_ she said, slipping off of her rock and submerging into the water. Snow followed right behind her. David and the others were all in one of the caves with the oysters they had received for dinner. Phillip was careful to make sure Aurora at her share, keeping some of his behind in case she would desire more later.

            _“How are you feeling, Aurora?”_ Belle asked before she took one oyster from the pile.

            _“Better today.”_

            _“I’m glad to hear that.”_ Belle finally pried the shells apart with the rock and dug into the meat inside.

            _“Belle,”_ Phillip said, _“Who are the humans you keep talking to?”_

            The oyster turned into a rock in her throat, scrapping her innards raw as she choked it down. She tossed the shells aside. There really was no avoiding it. _“Friends,”_ she said, _“They are friends of mine.”_

_“How did you know these friends?”_ David asked, _“You couldn’t have known them here.”_

            Did he have to be so astute? Four pairs of eyes were staring at her now, waiting for an answer. _“The man, Gold,”_ Belle began slowly, _“He was drowning…I saved him.”_

            Aurora let out a gasp. _“Belle, your father decreed that—,”_

_“What the sea wishes to take, the sea shall have,”_ Belle quoted for her. She knew many of her father’s commands, particularly the ones she didn’t care for. _“But I couldn’t do it. He wanted so badly to live; I could see it in his eyes. Now that I know he has a son, I’m glad that I did.”_

_“He seems to have power here, is he lord of the region?”_ Phillip asked.

            _“I don’t know,”_ she admitted, _“but he certainly seems to hold some command here.”_

_“Do you think he could help us?”_

_“Help us return to the sea, you mean,”_ Belle said, crossing her arms across her chest, _“Don’t beat around the reef, just tell me what you want. You want me to use my friendship with Lord Gold to try free us.”_

_“Yes,”_ he said, _“Aurora and I want our child born in the ocean, not in this cage. You saved this man’s life, he owes you a debt.”_

_“I don’t know if it works that way with humans,”_ she said, _“I can’t just tell him that since I saved his life that he needs to free us. Besides, our lives aren’t in any danger here. I don’t think they mean to hurt us.”_

_“But this isn’t our home,”_ Aurora said, _“I want to go home.”_

            Belle couldn’t argue with that, especially not when she put her hand to her stomach. Every mother had the right to have their children in a place they called home. _“I’ll talk with him,”_ she said, _“But I can’t promise anything. I’m trying to learn more about his culture, but that takes time. Please, all of you be patient.”_

            With that said, she swam out of the cave, heading back towards the surface. She shouldn’t be angry with them; she knew that. They wanted to go home. So did she…eventually. She wanted to see her father again, but she was glad to be away from her pressing duties as heir to the first kingdom of the sea, glad to be away from the boorish Gaston. She wanted to get more of a taste of this world she was in now, the world on the shore. Was she a horrible person for wanting that?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it, and let me know what you think. Remember, you can prompt me here or on tumblr.


	5. Lips Red as Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold finds himself meeting an old acquaintance and Belle reveals her voice to someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thestraggletag said:  
> Mermaid!Rumbelle: Gold's a lawyer, so he tries to find ways for the aquarium to improve the enclosure Belle's in, and trying to find a way to free her.
> 
> Anonymous said:  
> Not really a Black Pearls prompt but... Will we find out what is meant by "stimulating her to talk" mean? That sounds scary.

Check out this awesome image of the scene in the first chapter by angelqueen13! 

* * *

 

Warning: there is some torture in this chapter. 

        Dove was receiving an increase in pay, not that the man said much about it…or anything for that matter. Gold had taken to visiting the Enchanted Forest aquarium ever Tuesday and Thursday morning, letting Dove handle the shop and his tenants. He had agreed to relent on Bae’s grounding, but he couldn’t visit until Friday after school. So for now, Gold still had Belle all to himself.

            He knew he shouldn’t think about her like that. She wasn’t his possession, nor should she be anyone’s. The law said she belonged to Mill’s Corp like she was a pet and not a person. Oh he had heard about PETA and other groups taking the mermaid cause, but that didn’t really solve the problem. No, the issue was no one could see how something with a fish tail could actually be a person.

            Gold had taken to inspecting the mermaid enclosure. At his first glance he had thought it was more than adequate, but now he could see that with five merfolk, there was just not enough room. There was a hamburger stand close to the enclosure that sold mediocre, overpriced junk food. The recently discovered humanitarian in him wanted to get rid of that, but the businessman in him recognized that with thousands of children all begging for a seven-dollar ice cream that stand undoubtedly was a small gold mine. However, just beyond the wall was a small outdoor eating area with a little garden. He’d seen the space used very little. It could be simple enough to knock down the, or perhaps build a tunnel. Another pool could be made outside so the merfolk could get some sun. Undoubtedly, the children would enjoy it too.

            The park wasn’t opened yet and the merfolk were all sleeping peacefully. Belle was still alone, this time resting on her back with one arm curled over her head. He liked these moments when the place was empty of people. Soon she would wake then he would have her all to himself.

            “Well, well, isn’t this a surprise?”

            Gold whirled around, unable to put his usual mask back on to cover his surprise. She gave him a wide smile with blood red lips, but her dark eyes were sizing him up. “Cora,” he said, the shock dying instantly and replaced by a far more unsettling feeling.

            Hate.

            Cora Mills was just as stunning as she had always been, wearing a tailored blue suit that probably cost more than a middle class car. He hadn’t seen in her in two years, had rather hoped to never set eyes on her again.

            “Nathan Gold,” she said, “I never would have thought you’d be taken by the allure of a theme park.”

            “What the hell are you doing here, Cora?”

            “Now is that really a greeting?” she questioned him, “I’m sure I can do better.” He didn’t have time to react before she stepped towards him and pressed her lips to his.

            A long time ago her kiss would make his heart race; he would wrap his arms around her and kiss her back. He would never want that kiss to end.

            Now, once the shock cleared, he shoved her back and had to resist the urge to spit. “No games, Cora,” he hissed.

            “Oh now don’t be like that,” she said, forming a pout with her lips, “I’ve missed you, Nathan.”

            “Yes, I’m sure you came all of this way just to tell me that.”

            “That, and to thank you for your generous donation,” she said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought you were trying to woo me back.”

            “Thank God you do know better,” he said, “Now what do you really want?”

            Cora let out a chuckle and shook her head. “I heard you brought your son to my park here.”

            “Is that so surprising? He’s ten.”

            “Yes, and that he snuck in after hours.”

            “I’ve already punished him for that,” Gold told her. How long had she been watching him? Cora had probably never set foot into this park until today. She only came here for one purpose and that was to find out what he was up to.

            “And after that incident you gave my park a very generous donation with a specific contract that you and your precious boy be allowed special privileges here. And yet it seems neither of you has any interest in the other attractions, just my mermaid exhibit.”

            “They are quite unique creatures,” he said. She was fishing for something, like she always was. Cora was a brilliant businesswoman, not to mention con artist. He had seen her charm foreign dignitaries out of government secrets, even a cardinal out of his religious offerings. He had once admired her skills, once found her ability to charm money from a beggar one of her more attractive traits. Even after she had twisted a knife into his back, he’d still quietly respected her clever mind. A very high fall into the ocean had put a lot into perspective.

            “I’m told you are quite entranced by Lacey.”

            “Lacey?”

            “The blue mermaid.”

            Oh yes, that was right. There was a sign posted on the wall with pictures of all of the merfolk with names for all of them. Belle was called Lacey, Snow was Glimmer, David was Prince, Phillip was Titus, and Aurora was Rosie. No one had questioned the possibility that they would have their own names.

            “She’s friendly,” he said in response. Short answers as close to the truth as possible, it was the only way to deflect Cora, especially since she knew most of his tricks.

            “You wouldn’t come every week just to wave at a mermaid.” Cora crossed her arms across her chest and walked towards the tank. He turned to follow her gaze. The merfolk were awake now. Philip was sharing some of their morning meal with Aurora. It appeared Snow and David were up top. Belle was swimming freely in the tank, staring at him with puzzled eyes. He wanted to tell her to look away, to go interact with one of her companions, anything to keep Cora from noticing her.

            “Now, a few years ago I’d have assumed you were trying to steal my enterprise here,” she said, “but since you stepped down from your position two years ago to move to a small town and open a pawn shop, that seems unlikely.”

            “According you, I had a psychotic break after that plane crash, so why is all of this so surprising to you?” he asked her.

            “There is no need to be hostile.”

            “With you there is every reason to be hostile.”

            “I’m just trying to figure out why you are so interested in Lacey,” she said.

            “My son likes the exhibit,” he told her, “I’m just trying to bond with him.”

            “Eager to win a father of the year award?”

            “Just because your own efforts at parenthood were utter failures doesn’t mean everyone can’t succeed in raising their children,” he said.

            “So you just wanted easy access to the park so you can play with your son?”

            “I’m an active parent,” he said, staring back at her, silently daring her to blink first.

            She let out another chuckle and shook her head. “You’re still very good at this, Nathan. I have missed you in New York.”

            He took a step away from her. “I’m afraid I’m not interested, dearie.”

            She only laughed again. “Enjoy the park, Nathan. I’ll be sure to send you and your son a few complimentary souvenirs for your next visit. We are opening a new exhibit in the fall, a fairy enclosure. Perhaps your son would enjoy that.”

            Her cool fingers brushed against his shoulder as she walked away, a shiver racing down his spine at her touch. Gold had wanted to bury that part of his past back in the ocean. Belle hadn’t just saved him from drowning that day, but had changed his life forever.

            His savior was staring at him through the glass walls. She wanted to talk to him; he could see it in her bottomless blue eyes. It ached inside of his chest. He so badly wanted to do…something, to race up to the top and just tell her he would protect her, to smash that glass with his cane and carry her back to the ocean…something. Anything to keep her out of Cora’s grasp.

            So he gave her a gentle shake of his head, hoping she could read his mind and now how much this killed him, and walked away.

* * *

 

            Something had shifted, like the way the ocean changed whenever a storm was charging. Belle could feel it in the waters once she had woken and seen Gold with that woman. Something dark surrounded that woman, and it had nothing to do with the sudden clench in her belly when she had kissed Gold. Was she a potential life-mate for him? His attitude towards the woman had not appeared to be cordial. If only she knew more about human mates.

            She wished he had stayed so she could ask him what was going on. He had looked so…troubled. Yes, something was definitely wrong.

            It was their evening meal. The children and other visitors had all gone, leaving the whole place feeling like one small island in a vast ocean. She actually preferred the bustle of families than this emptiness. She kept hoping Gold would return, perhaps with Bae. Maybe that would make her feel better.

            The door opened and she looked up eagerly to see if her friends had come. Disappointment washed over her, followed swiftly by fear when recognized the black man called Glass. He had two other men she recognized as workers, but didn’t know their names. Worst of all, that woman was with them.

            “We’re very proud of our mermaid enclosure, as you can see we spared no expense, Ms. Mills,” Glass told her.

            Mills nodded her head. “Yes, I can see how much pride you take in this place. But my interest doesn’t lie in the facilities, but with the mermaids.”

            “What do you want to know about them?”

            “I think we need to examine them more closely. Remove them one at a time and undergo complete scans and analysis.” Mills looked over to where Belle sat on her rock. The way her white teeth gleamed between bright red lips made her heart sink into her stomach. “Starting with the blue one.”

            Belle tossed aside her clam and dove into the water. She knew that she wouldn’t have much time. Her friends all followed her, hurrying to the caves. They wouldn’t provide any actual shelter, but it was better than doing nothing. She could already hear the two men plunging into the ocean with their removable fins and strange tubes on their backs.

            She went to where the coral was thick along one cave. Carefully, she slipped her black pearls off her neck and lifted one of the rocks, placing it gently underneath. Two arms grabbed her from behind, yanking her away from the coral. She felt the prick of the needle against her arm and then everything went black.

            She awoke in an all too familiar setting. She was strapped to a table that was connected to a strange device that hung above her, gently spraying her with water to keep her tail from drying out. Mills was standing above with that same sickening smile.

            “Glad to see we are awake. Your scan didn’t detect any anomalies, but we’ll still be examining your friends as well. I am curious as to why Nathan has such a fascination with you.”

            She looked over at Glass. “According to our research, the mermaids all have vocal cords. Have you managed to get them to talk at all?”

            Glass shook his head. “No ma’am. As far as I have heard, no one has. Our scientists theorize that they may be able to mimic sounds and words, much like parrots, but they don’t appear to be capable of understanding us.”

            Mills tilted her head, still smiling. “I think you’re wrong, Sidney. She seems to understand every word we are saying.”

            Belle shut her eyes tight. “ _Gold,”_ she called out in her mind, “ _help me. I’m…I’m scared.”_

            “Give me the probe,” Mills said.

            “We’ve tried stimulating responses before.”

            “Well I want to try it now myself.”

            Sidney handed her the metal stick with the forked end. Belle’s heart beat in her chest like the tail of a sailfish. She flapped her tail, wriggled around in the table, trying to find some way to escape. Of course, even if she did get free, she had no way to swim away from them, not on dry land.

            “Now,” Mills said, “I think I’d like to hear that voice of yours. Tell me to stop and I will.”

            Belle shook, squeezing her eyes shut. _“Gold, please! Help me!”_

The two prongs touched her arm, sending a zap of pain through her skin. It was like magic, but left a far more painful sting. The probe touched her again, and again, and again. Belle bit her lip. It would be over soon; they never did this for long.

            “Hmm, it seems this isn’t enough for you. What if I up the power a little?” Mills moved some sort of circle on the stick and she heard the crackle of the magic in the probe, a tiny blue spark emanating from the top.

            The probe touched her arm again. Fire raced through her bones. The scream was ripped from her throat before she could stop it. Mills had a positively gleeful smile as she poked her again.

            Red and purple spots appeared on her arm, but Mills kept going. Belle couldn’t stop her cries. Hot tears leaked from her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. Every time the probe touched her all she could think about was the pain. No one had ever hurt her like this before, not even the men in the white coats. No one had ever been this cruel.

            “All you have to say is stop,” Mills told her, “Just say the word and I will.”

            “Ms. Mills, I don’t think—.”

            “Shut up, Sidney,” Mills told him, “She will be broken, just like any other obstinate animal.”

            Mills turned the dial on the probe again. “Let’s try another spot.” She raked her scarlet nails along the scales of her tail. “You do have such a pretty tail. So smooth, so…sensitive, perhaps?”

            Belle couldn’t help the whimper that spilled out just before the probe touched her tail. Her scream rang against the walls, but Belle couldn’t hear it. All she could feel was the pain. Her entire body was on fire now, the tail flopping around on it’s own accord.

            “Shall we go again?” Mills asked her. More fire, more pain.

            She moved the dial again. “Let’s put it at the top setting.”

            It was too much. She couldn’t take anymore. The probe was just around to touch her tail, ready to strike.

            “Stop!” Belle croaked out, her voice hoarse from her cries.

            Sidney let out a gasp, staring at her with his mouth open wide. Mills only smiled, but true to her word, she set the probe aside. “There now, was that so hard?”

            Belle said nothing else, just lay back onto the table and let her eyes slip closed, drifting into blackness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this turned out to be a lot more evil than I intended. Sorry. I do hope everyone enjoys it. Remember, feel free to prompt me here or on tumblr.


	6. A Cry for Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold has a dream about Belle that has him rushing to the aquarium to make sure she is all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said:  
> BP and GW: Belle is sick but refuses to take medicine from the people who study her and her friends. Gold promises it will make her feel better and Belle promises to take it if he is the one to give it to her.

Gold was in the ocean.

            Not the real ocean, the one conjured by his mind due to the plane crash. He’d had this dream many times of being in the sea, of drowning. However, this was different. He wasn’t struggling to make his way back to the surface; he was…fine. He could breathe; he could swim. There were no twisted metal plane debris or bodies sinking to the ocean floor. He was at peace here. In some way, he belonged here.

            _“Gold_. _”_

            It was Belle. She was here with him, calling for him. He swam around, through the crystal blue water, swishing his tail.

            His tail? What the…?

            _“Help me,”_ he heard her again, _“I’m…I’m scared.”_

 Oh God, where was she? Had she been hurt? Was she caught in a fishing net? What had happened to her?

            _“I’m coming, Belle!”_ He called out to her. _“Just hold on!”_

            _“Gold please!”_ he heard her cry out. It was different now, beyond just fear. Something was terribly wrong. She wasn’t just scared. She was terrified and…pain. She was hurt. He could feel it in the corner of his mind, the burning pain.

            _“Help me!”_

            “I’m coming!”

            The sound of his own voice woke him from his sleep. Gold sat up from his bed, his heart pounding, breath gusting out. It was a dream. All just a terrible dream.

            But he could still hear her voice ringing in his ears.

            The logical side of his mind told him that it was just a dream, and nothing in dreams was real. However, this side also didn’t believe in mermaids until the news announced that he was wrong. It was his hear that told him that he would never be able to forgive himself if he didn’t make sure she was all right.

            He abandoned his bed, leaving the sheets to pile on the floor. He blindly grabbed the first articles of clothing he could find, forgoing his usual tie. He was pulling on his shirt when he heard a knock at his door. Bae was rubbing at his eyes. “Papa? What’s going on?”

            “Get dressed, Bae,” he said.

            “Why?”

            “We are going to see Belle.”

            Bae didn’t ask anymore questions, but turned and ran back to his room. A few minutes later, he returned wearing a pair of blue jeans and a Superman t-shirt. “What’s wrong with Belle?” he asked.

            “I don’t know if anything’s wrong. I just want to be sure.”

            Bae still looked at his father the same way he had when he’d tried to explain in as gentle terms as possible where babies came from, but he didn’t ask any more questions. He drove at top speed to the Enchanted Forest park, flashing the guard at the gate his special pass. It was wretchedly dark out, the area completely dead except for the lights coming from inside the complex.

            _It was just a dream_ , he told himself, _you are going to feel very stupid when you realize she is all right. You have woken up Bae for no reason. It was just a dream_.

            They moved past all of the other exhibits, though they both stopped to look when they heard the dragon let out a scream. Most of the lights were out inside the aquarium so they had to rely on the dim illumination above the tanks and their own memory of the halls. Darkness gave way to light when they reached the mermaid enclosure. Instead of feeling joy at the sight of the tank, Gold felt his blood run cold.

            It was empty.

            There were no mermaids or mermen sleeping in the caves or swimming around, peering at them through the glass. Gold and his son both stared at the strange calm in the tank for a long moment before taking to the ramp as fast as they could. Bae was faster than he was, reaching the top of the enclosure and disappearing around the artificial rock wall.

            “Papa!” he heard Bae call, “Come quick!”

            He rounded the corner to see that Bae was kneeling on the little shelf laid out for children to get a better look at the mermaids. All of the mermaids were present, the three girls on the rocks while the men guarded them from the water. Gold only felt relief at seeing her for just a moment before his stomach dropped.

            She was lying on the rock with her three companions surrounding her. Her entire body quivered, but he knew that it couldn’t be from the cold because merfolk adapted their body temperatures to their environment. Her skin wasn’t its usual rosy color, but white and waxy. He’d seen a similar expression on fellow survivors from the plane crash: pure terror.

            “…she’s freaked out. Won’t stop shaking. I was hoping you could do something, doc.”

            Gold turned to see the worker called Leroy walking into the room with another man he didn’t recognize. This stranger had a froth of white hair on his head and round spectacles perched on his nose.

            Gold didn’t wait. He grabbed a fistful of Leroy’s maintenance coat and pulled him so they were nose to nose. “What did you do to her?”

            “Whoa! Easy there, buddy!” Leroy yanked himself free. “I didn’t do anything to them.” He smoothed out the front of his jacket. “Look, I came here like I do every night to sweep up and I found them all like that. All I know is that each of them were taken out and examined, but I don’t know what they did to Lacey.”

            “Belle!” Bae called out, “Her name is Belle!”

            Leroy waved him off. “Okay, Belle, whatever. Well I don’t know what they did, but it looked bad. That’s why I brought the doc here.

            “You’re a doctor?” Gold asked.

            “I’m a veterinarian,” Doc told him, “Normally I don’t work much with the aquatic creatures here, but Leroy was worried about La—Belle,”

            Gold couldn’t help but look at Leroy, unable to mask his surprise. The man shrugged his shoulders. “She always waves at me whenever I come in to sweep.”

            “I’ll need to get a closer look, if you don’t mind,” Doc said. He moved past Gold and went to the side of the tank. He stepped up onto the shelf by Bae and made to move onto the rocks inside. David and Phillip immediately moved towards him, each holding a good-sized rock in their hands. Doc wisely stepped back out of the tank.

            “Well this just got tricky,” he said.

            “I don’t blame them one bit,” Gold said. Aurora and Snow were both rubbing at Belle’s arms, trying to calm her down. Someone had to see just what was wrong with her, but it couldn’t be a stranger.

            Gold propped his cane up against the side of the shelf by Bae, gritting his teeth when his ankle protested as he stepped up on to it. “Papa?”

            “Stay there, son,” he told him. Held up both hands towards the two mermen before he took a step into the enclosure. Phillip and David kept a hold of their weapons, fury in their gazes. “I am her friend,” he told them, “Friend. I just want to help.”

            Phillip raised his arm, prepared to attack, but David pulled him back. He stared at his companion for a moment, shaking his head slightly. He couldn’t hear their thoughts, but it appeared David trusted him…slightly. Neither took their eyes off of him as he made his way further into the enclosure.

            Aurora immediately jumped back into the water and swam to her mate. Snow wasn’t quite as fearful, choosing instead to keep one hand on Belle’s shoulder. He had to make his way there slowly because of his ankle, but soon enough he was at her side. He knelt down onto the slippery rock, probably staining his suit, but he didn’t care. He took a hold of Belle’s cold hand, rubbing it between his palms.

            “Belle?” he said her name gently.

            She looked up at him; her pupils blow open wide. “G-G-Gold?”

            “Yes, I’m here, sweetheart,” he said.

            She reached up with her free hand for his face. “How…?”

            “I heard you,” he told her, “You were calling for me.”

            “You c-c-came.”

            “Of course I did.”

            Her hand moved away from his face to take ahold of his shoulder, pulling herself towards him. Gold accepted her invitation, wrapping her into his arms and pulling her up so she was tucked into her chest. She was still shaking, but not as violently as before.

            There were red and purple marks on her arm. On her tail there were more marks, darker than the others. “Belle, what happened?”

            “Sh-sh-she…hurt,” Belle said, her voice tiny and frail, “W-w-want me t-to talk.”

            Oh God. It was far worse than he had thought. Belle hadn’t just been examined; she’d been tortured. There was no doubt as to who the “she” was.

            Cora.

            “Can you tell me what is wrong with her?” Doc asked.

            “She’s been bruised by something…no, more like burned. Electrical burns.”

            “Why would someone do that to Belle?” Bae asked.

            “I don’t know,” he lied. Some things children shouldn’t know, not yet at least.

            “She’s probably in shock then,” Doc surmised. He opened his plastic medical box and rifled around. “Here, this should calm her down. I give it to the gryphons sometimes because they can get overly excited and hurt one another. It’s safe, I promise.”

            “Bae, you take it and bring it in here with me,” Gold instructed, “They won’t hurt you.”

            “I know.” Bae took the little glass vial and clambered over the wall with it carefully in his grip. He smiled at all of the merfolk, even giving Snow a little wave. “Here, Papa.”

            “Thank you.” Gold unscrewed the cap and saw it was a little dropper with clear liquid inside.

            “Just put two drops on her tongue,” Doc told him. “I usually put it in the gryphon’s food, but they require a larger dose. Two drops should be fine.”

            Gold nodded. “Belle, can you open your mouth for me, sweetheart?”

            Her tremors increased slightly and she eyed the dropper with mistrust. “It’s all right,” he whispered to her, “It won’t hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you again, I promise.”

            Belle gave him a slight nod and opened her mouth. He put the two drops on her tongue, and then closed the bottle again. He held her again, stroking her hair and back. “I’m so sorry, Belle,” he whispered to her.

            “Y-you do not need s-sorry,” she said, “You came. All I want.”

            He gave her a gentle smile. “I’ll always come when you need me.”

            She returned his smile with a tremulous one of her own. Slowly, her shaking began to stop and her eyelids drooped.

            “Is she going to be all right, Papa?” Bae asked him.

            “She’ll be fine,” he said, “She just needs to rest.”

            Gold looked up from Belle’s face towards the veterinarian and the janitor. “Thank you.”

            Doc smiled and said, “It’s my job.”

            Leroy shrugged again, staring down at the floor. “Well, I didn’t really do anything, just called for help.”

            It was so much more than that. Gold now knew just who he could trust here at this aquarium to watch over Belle and her friends. When he looked back at Belle’s face he saw she was asleep. A wet hand touched his shoulder, gaining his attention. Snow looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. He couldn’t hear it, but he knew she was telling him _“thank you”._

            Gold knew he would have to let her go eventually, but not yet. As long as he held her, he knew he was safe. Soon he would have to give her back to her friends. Soon he would find out exactly what Cora did and make sure this never happened again. Soon he would find a way to make sure Belle and her friends were returned to their home, even if it meant never seeing her again.

            But for now, he tightened his grip on her, felt the beating of her heart against his chest.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I teared up a little bit writing this chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it. ;-D


	7. Safe Haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle wakes up the next day and discovers Bae and Gold stayed with her the whole night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said:  
> don't know if it's fluffy enough, but as Belle is sleeping off the shock of what happened in the last chapter, she has a dream of meeting Gold in the ocean, as if he was always a Merman.
> 
> Anonymous said:  
> BP and GW Prompt: Belle dreams about Gold then wakes up to see that Gold & Bae had spend the night. Maybe they got her a 'get well' gift.
> 
> It's a little short, but I really wanted to get this out.

The water around her was limitless. No walls or glass to keep her closed in, just endless amounts of blue sea. She was back in the ocean, back home. Belle didn’t realize how much she’d missed just openly swimming, no walls to hold her back. She could go wherever she wanted.

            In the haze of the sea, she could see someone coming towards her. All merfolk were considered friends, so she held out her hands in welcome. She gasped as the stranger came closer. It wasn’t a stranger at all.

            Gold was coming towards her, except…he wasn’t human. A beautiful gold tail moved gracefully through the water, bringing him closer to her. He reached towards her with both of his hands. How was he a merman?

            Belle smiled at him just as their palms met. A wave of energy washed over her, warmth and tingling pleasure. This was so much more than a simple hello.

            They let their bodies drift closer, tangling their tails together. Their palms continued to touch, letting the current that came from them continue to swirl within her blood. They were so close now, closer than she’d ever been with any man. As her face came closer to his, her eyes drifted close, ready to take that first step to…

            Belle opened her eyes, finding that she wasn’t in the ocean, nor was she engaging in the first step in the life-mate bond with Gold. She wasn’t actually in the water at all, other than her tail. Instead, she was nestled on the rocks above the surface.

            The events from before had become hazy. Unfortunately, her time with Mills was very clear and made her curl herself up in a ball and squeeze her eyes shut. But after that, she had small fragments of memory that almost seemed like a dream. Had Gold really come and held her until she finally fell asleep?

            “Oh! You’re awake!”

            Belle opened her eyes and sat up, reclining on one hand. It was little Bae, seated on a rock close by. She smiled at him weakly. “Hello.”

            “Are you feeling okay? I got you something to cheer you up.” Bae scooted towards her and held up a bracelet. It was made of different colored scalloped shells. There was something odd about the shells though. They were too uniform, too plain, unlike the shells in her ocean.

            “Thank you,” she said, taking the bracelet. Now she could see it was made out of that material called plastic. The bracelet stretched over her hand and clung to her wrist.

            “I got it in the gift shop,” Bae said, “I thought you would like it.”

            “I do,” she said, “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome.”

            Belle looked around the lagoon. Her friends must have been below the surface and there was no one else around. Had Gold already left?

            “Papa went to get us breakfast,” Bae said as if he could hear her thoughts.

            “Oh,” she said softly.

            “Aurora and the others saved you some clams.”

            Belle shook her head softly. It appeared she didn’t have an appetite at the moment. She looked down at her tail, seeing several dark spots where the probe had been. When she ran her hand over them, one of her scales fell off. She knew it would grow back, but as she held the dead scale in her palm, tears began to form in her eyes.

            She used to look up at the rippling sky from below the surface, wondering what it was like to live up there on dry land. She had looked at all of the human objects to be found at the bottom of the sea and imagined what they did, what sorts of people had used them. Even after being plucked from her ocean and brought to this place, Belle had felt like this world was still wondrous in its own way. For the first time since she’d left, Belle longed to truly be back in her safe waters.

            “Papa!” Bae called out. Belle hastily dried her cheeks and looked over to see Gold was already standing in the lagoon He had in one hand an odd box that had a strange smell coming from it. “Are we having pizza for breakfast?”

            “Yes, as much as I despair over it, pizza was all that was available.” He set the box down next to Bae who eagerly opened it and pulled out a strange triangle shaped food with…things on top of it.

            Gold made no move to claim any of the pizza for himself, just sat down between her and Bae. He didn’t meet her eyes, instead staring at the dark places on her tail where her scales were beginning to peel away. For a moment, Belle thought about reassuring him that she was fine, that she would heal within a few days, but it wouldn’t make things right.

            Instead, she reached over and put her hand over his. Softly, barely without them realizing it, their fingers twined together. Only then, did she really feel safe again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember feel free to prompt me for this verse either here or on tumblr at http://tinuviel-undomiel.tumblr.com


	8. A Moment of Clarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle has recovered from Cora's attack, but finds that there is another visitor to the aquarium she does not take kindly too. Gold has a startling realization about his growing friendship with Belle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said:  
> BP&GW Prompt: Is it possible for Zelena to make an appearance where she follows Gold to where Belle is & makes an insult to the mermaids or makes a move on Gold & Belle splashes on her or throws something slimy at her?

            It had been two weeks since Belle had encountered Cora Mills and she was quite glad not to have clapped eyes on her since. Things had calmed considerably since that terrible day. Belle’s scales had grown back quickly. She was determined to put that nightmare behind her and continue to find the joy in observing the human world.

            Just yesterday a very peculiar thing happened. Several of the human children came along with their parents. There was one little girl wearing some sort of crown but it wasn’t as sparkly as the ones Belle has seen at the bottom of the sea. They all surrounded her while they lit this odd food on fire and sang a song. The girl called it a “cake” and Belle noticed how it was made to look like a mermaid, but with a pink tail and blonde hair. Belle watched as the girl tore through paper to unearth treasures, but they were none that Belle was familiar with. Most of her fellow companions lost interest in the peculiarity of the group and had returned to swimming in the lagoon. Belle remained up top, eager to learn all the more about this world and it’s customs.

            The children were friendly, waving and laughing in delight when she waved back. The little girl wearing the crown asked if she could give her some cake, but one of her parents said they didn’t believe mermaids would like cake. That was a bit disappointing. Belle had been tempted to tell them that she would life to try some. However, Gold had told her before that she should remain silent, lest Cora try something again.

            Belle was eager to see Gold again and ask about what the little girl was doing with her companions and if she would have liked cake. He had promised to visit with her again today since he hadn’t been able to come over the “weekend” as he called it. He had a shipment coming in, but he told her it wasn’t an actual ship like she had first thought. Gold had tried to find the words to describe his work and home, but they were all so foreign to her. She longed to find a way to see more of his world. What wouldn’t she give to actually go to see all of the sights the land had to offer besides this artificial lagoon?

            Belle toyed with the bracelet Bae had given her, watching as the colored shells clicked together. If only she had a conch could listen to. One thing she truly did miss was the archive back home, full of conchs that contained all of the knowledge of the seas, not to mention wonderful stories passed down through the ages of the merfolk.

            Her heart leapt when she saw Gold coming up through the glass. As she waved at him, Bae’s bracelet slipped through her fingers and sank towards the bottom of the lagoon, the current in the waters dragging it away. She saw Gold give her an amused smile at her bought of clumsiness. She swam over to retrieve it, slipping it back on her wrist and then raced up to the surface to greet him properly.

            When she broke through the water, she saw Gold was standing at the wall…not alone. There was a woman with him. There was a lightening bolt of fear that rippled through her, but the woman’s vibrant red hair reassured her that this was not Cora Mills. Still, Gold appeared stiff in her presence. Clearly this was no friend.

            Belle stayed by the rocks to observe the pair, straining her ears to pick up their words.

* * *

 

            “Nathan, darling, how marvelous to see you again!”

            Gold came to understand exactly how a heart attack felt when he heard her voice. Zelena Mills was not a person he had ever wanted to see again unless she was in a straight jacket.

            “Zelena,” he growled out, “What are you doing here?”

            “Mother mentioned that you find her new investment quite fascinating,” she said, “I just had to see it for myself.”

            A pity he hadn’t filed a restraining order against her after she had broken into his house and waited in his bed with nothing but whipped cream to cover herself. It was her younger sister, Regina, who talked him out of pressing charges by pointing out how his own humiliation would be the cost of going to the authorities. In the end, it was easier to just let her family contain her rather than let the papers hear the story. Still, he has learned to never get drunk at a Christmas party and to avoid mistletoes at all cost.

            “Cora and I already had a lengthy conversation regarding her park,” Gold said, “You didn’t have to come all of this way.”

            “Well I just had to see what all the fuss was about,” Zelena said. “Really, I’m not sure what you find so fascinating about these creatures, certainly they don’t smell very good.” She wrinkled her nose and waved one hand in front of her face.

            “Perhaps if they had better accommodations, your delicate senses wouldn’t be so insulted,” he said.

            “Nonsense. This facility is top of the line, they should be grateful we put them in here.”

            “Yes, five people living in a swimming pool is certainly an ideal life.”

            “They aren’t _people_ ,” Zelena reminded him, “They are animals. They should be glad they aren’t a shark’s lunch.”

            “Odd,” Gold said with a shake of his head, “I hear your voice, but it’s your mother’s words coming out of your mouth.”

            “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Zelena said with a saucy smile. “You were fond of her once.”

            “A brief moment of insanity.”

            “Come now, Nathan, I may not be my mother, but I’m certain I can please you. You certainly liked me at Christmas four years ago.”

            “Zelena, that fact that I had to be drunk in order to kiss you should prove that you are deluding yourself into thinking I could ever want to open that door.”

            Zelena smiled at him, one hand reaching for his face. “A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.”

            Gold dodged her attempts, moving closer to the rock wall around the lagoon. “I mean it, Zelena, you keep trying this and I will have you arrested.”

            Her sultry look fell into a petulant glare. “You mean to say you’re more attracted to a _fish_ than to _me_?”

            Gold wanted to snarl something back at her, but found he couldn’t. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she was wrong, but…it would be a lie. Coldness washed over him, a startling truth. He was attracted to Belle.

            It was stupid and wrong. How could he be thinking such a thing? They were entirely different species, lived in complete opposite ecosystems. There was no future, not chance, nothing. His foolish heart needed to understand that.

            He was certain his epiphany was plain on his face, but Zelena never got the chance to make note of it. Something came hurtling towards her from the lagoon, smacking her in the face with a very satisfying splat.

            “Ugh! What is this disgusting thing!” Zelena shouted, yanking the substance out of her hair. It was slippery and left streaks all over her face. Seaweed, Gold realized a bit belatedly. Likely part of the merfolk’s meal.

            He looked over into the tank just in time to see the end of a blue tail disappearing beneath the surface. There was no way to contain the smile breaking across his face.

            “Careful, Zelena,” he said, “It seems the _fish_ know when they are being insulted.”

            Her green eyes would have killed him if she had the power. What a lovely change from her usual mad lust. He continued to smile as she stormed away, the seaweed still tangled in her hair.

            Gold looked back at the water and waited for her to return. She peeked out from the surface with only the top of her head and her eyes visible, no doubt wondering if her little prank was going to be praised or condemned. He couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of his chest.

            Belle lifted herself out of the water, smiling back at him. “I hope she learn about fish now.”

            “I’m certain she has,” he replied.

            Gold knew that something had changed, perhaps when he held Belle in his arms after her terrible meeting with Cora. Likely Belle could sense it too, but there was no point in dwelling on it. So when his heart jumped into a new rhythm when Belle gave him her customary greeting, he shoved it all down. It was best not to think about that. Otherwise, who knew what foolish thing he could do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do review and let me know what you think or share any prompts you have for this story.


	9. Friends of the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora begins to plot something new while Gold discovers he may have some new allies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have any prompts for this chapter, but it was necessary for the next part of the plot. I do hope everyone likes it and remember to send me more prompts.

            The latest report about the Enchanted Forest Park and Aquarium was quite positive. Interest in the new fairy exhibit was high, though the troll exhibit was slightly down in numbers. The new hamburger stand was selling well as was the ice cream booth. The longest portion was dedicated to the mermaid exhibit.

            The recent announcement to the public that Rosie was pregnant had gone over very well. Scientists from all over the world, each more eager than the last, had contacted Cora in an effort to gain access to study the mermaid. The mystery of how the creatures procreated was finally in reach of discovery. More than that, little children were eager to drag their parents to the park in order to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be mother. Once the little thing was born, sales would go through the roof.

            The only problem was the mermaid. Sidney was droning on and on about his latest plan to raise the price of beverages by ten cents to increase profit, but her focus was on the aquarium where the mermaids swam around peacefully. Actually, three of them were swimming. Rosie and her mate were still hiding in one of the little rock caves where the onlookers could hardly see them.

            Almost as dozen children were plastered against the glass wall, gazing at the creatures. She could hear one little girl asking her mother where the pink mermaid was. The mother glanced around the room before locking eyes on one of the attendants on duty. “Excuse me, but my daughter wants to see Rosie, is there anything you can do?”

            “I’m sorry ma’am,” he said, “But Rosie is very shy, especially now that she is having a baby. I’m afraid there really isn’t anything I can do to coax her out.”

            “But I want to see her!” the child whined in a voice that was almost too high for dogs to hear.

            “I’m sorry, miss, but you have to understand that Rosie is very protective of her child. Once she feels more comfortable, I’m sure she’ll come out and say hello.”

            The girl turned away, a scowl pinching her face. “Stupid,” she grumbled, “why won’t she come say hi? The other one does.”

            “I don’t know, sweetie,” her mother said.

            “Mrs. Mills?” Sidney asked, “Mrs. Mills, what do you think about my plan to increase the charge for the 3D ride?”

            “I don’t really care,” she said, “Has that ridiculous mermaid ever left that cave?”

            “What?”

            “The pregnant one. What do you know?”

            “Oh, well I never gave much care of the mermaids before.” He blinked at her and then swallowed at her glare, “But I will now.”

            “Did you talk to the blue one? We know she can speak. Tell her to get her friends to interact more with the guests.”

            “Well…” Sidney trailed off.

            “What is it?”

            “She’s remarkably stubborn. Whenever I or anyone she doesn’t care for comes into the enclosure she hurtles seaweed and clamshells at us.”

            Cora glared through the glass where the blue mermaid held up a handful of seashells to show to the children. How nauseatingly cheerful. Still, the children and their parents were riveted. Why couldn’t the pink one be more like that?

            “Lacey is so pretty,” one of the children said.

            “Yeah. One time when I went up top, she even figured out how to ‘high five’. She’s awesome!”

            No, Cora didn’t have to listen to her guests prattle on to know that Lacey was the favorite of the mermaid attraction. The fact that Nathan was so interested in her was enough to make her blood boil. Before the plane crash, she and Nathan had enjoyed a healthy business competition, with the occasional bedroom romp. The Nathan Gold that had emerged from the wreckage was the not the man she had known. He’d stepped away from his business and moved into the country with his son.

            Cora had done her research when she’d first discovered Nathan’s new interest in her business enterprise here. The articles about the crash and his rescue revealed little, but money in the right hands gave her the more detailed report of his rescue, which included his feverish ramblings about a woman saving him. No doubt, the doctors had assumed he had been delirious from shock and his wound, but the gold ring nestled by the black pearls around the mermaid’s neck was proof enough for her that the half-fish had saved Nathan from death.

            As much as she despised the little mermaid and her attachment to her once lover, Cora was still a businesswoman. It would be foolish to let petty jealousy rule her in this matter. Lacey brought in the most crowds, far more than even Rosie and her unborn merchild could do.

            Cora stared at the tank. Titus was guarding his pregnant mate in the cave, while Glimmer and Prince were calmly swimming together. Only Lacey lingered on alone. There could be one way to continue to market the popularity of her attraction while also severing whatever was going on with Nathan and the fish.

            “Sidney,” Cora said, snapping him into attention, “Find out if there is a merman available for us to acquire. I want a fine specimen as soon as possible.”

            “Why?” he asked.

            “If Rosie won’t come out and let the people fawn over her coming child, then I’ll just have to breed more and from a stock that has already won the hearts of the kiddies,” Cora said.

            What a perfect way to remind Nathan that he was on solid ground, letting his little pet make nice with another one of her kind. Perhaps he’d even come back to New York and his business. Truly, conquering the latest company just wasn’t as much fun if she wasn’t trying to steal it from Nathan Gold. He’d remember that these creatures belonged behind walls of glass; then everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be.

* * *

            It was proving to be a lazy Saturday afternoon. Bae was doing his homework in the living room as per their agreement in order to get to see Belle tomorrow. Meanwhile, Gold was going over a lease agreement with a new bakery owner in town. He liked these quiet moments the best. They were simple, not nearly as dramatic as his life before the crash, but he had since learned that these were moments he would treasure.

            Tonight he’d order in pizza as a treat for his son. Milah would complain that he was spoiling him, but that was his right. He had a lot to make up for anyways.

            The news was droning on in the background, but he wasn’t paying much attention to it until a buttoned-up newscaster said in a very monotone voice, “The world is still buzzing over the latest animals to enter our zoos and aquariums: mermaids. Families are flooding the parks to see these new attractions, but some people are arguing for their release. We are on the air with Ariel Prince, marine biologist and leader of the Friends of the Sea organization. Thank you for joining us, Ariel.”

            Gold looked up from his papers to see a rather lovely young woman with a riot of bright red curls and dark blue eyes. She smiled at him through his tv set. “Thank you, Joan,” she said.

            “I understand you are an advocate speaking out against the rehabilitation of the mermaids.”

            “I’m against their imprisonment, yet,” Ariel said.

            “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

            “Not at all,” Ariel argued back, “These people have been plucked from their homes and placed into small enclosures simply for our amusement. This isn’t like a rescued sea lion or a dolphin born in an aquarium. These merfolk have been captured in nets, treated like lab rats, and then put into a cage because we happen to find them interesting to look at.”

            This woman had his undivided attention now. Bae’s math homework had been abandoned as well.

            “You call them people,” the news anchor said, “Does that mean you feel they have human rights?”

            “Doesn’t any creature born on this earth have a right to live the life they desire?” Ariel asked, “You see something that has a scales and fins and assume it must be studied, but you forget that they also have hands and face just like anyone else. Scientists even admit that they believe the merfolk are capable of speech, even logical thought.”

            “But if that is the case, why don’t they tell us to put them back into the ocean,” the newswoman questioned.

            “Maybe they have and we just aren’t listening,” Ariel said, “Unfortunately, the human race has a long history of putting ourselves first before the good of others.”

            “So you don’t think we should study and learn more about the mermaids?”

            “I’m not saying that, I’m saying we should create a symbiotic relationship with them. I’m certain many of the merfolk are as curious about us as we are of them. We should return the captives back to the ocean and try to communicate with this species. We can all live together, but we have to look past our differences and understand we are all the same, whether we have two feet or a tail.”

            “That was well said, Mrs. Prince,” the newswoman said, but she showed no indication that the speech actually meant a damn to her, “Thank you for joining us this evening. Coming up, the latest on the scandal…”

            Gold tuned out the rest, none of that mattered in the least to him. He’d known there were protestors about the merfolk. There were always dissenters in any endeavor. However, this wasn’t the usual white noise of people who are only aiming for attention. This woman was educated on her subject; more than that, she had spoken from the heart. She presented her beliefs in a way that was hard to argue against.

            “She’s right, isn’t she, papa?” Bae said.

            “Yes, she is,” Gold said with a nod.

            “Are you going to help Belle get back to the ocean?”

            It was such a simple question, but one that hurt far more than he had expected. Ariel Prince was right. The merfolk didn’t deserve to be put in glass cages to be made spectacles for those who lived on the land. It was easy to see that, but harder to admit. He knew what was right, but he also knew that he was unlikely to ever see Belle again if he did. She had a life waiting for her back in that world beneath the surface of the ocean, a place where she belonged. Neither he nor Bae would fit into that world.

            He could shut his eyes and pretend he’d never seen anything. He could let things carry on as they would. Belle didn’t hate living in the aquarium and he had a good investment in it now. He could make sure she and her friends would live comfortably there for the rest of their lives. It would be easy.

            But he would never be able to look her in the eyes again.

            Gold let out a sigh and reached over to ruffle Bae’s rakish mop of hair. “Finish you’re homework. I’m going to order a pizza.”

            He retreated back into his study and removed his phone from his pocket. There was a picture of Bae on his desk, perched on the rock next to Belle. His son had insisted on their last visit and Belle had been so fascinated by the camera. He’d even thought about buying a waterproof one for her to use. Still, that was a fool talking. She had no use for a camera, no need for shiny toys to bribe her into being happy with her cage.

            Gold dialed a number and heard it pick up on the first ring. “Find me everything you know about Ariel Prince and her Friends of the Sea foundation.”

            He hung up at that, ignoring the pain ripping through his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think Cora has up her sleeve? Will Gold be able to help Belle get back to the ocean with Ariel's help? 
> 
> Please review to let me know what you think. And remember, send me prompts.


	10. Not so Different After All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new merman is brought to the exhibit to be Belle's companions, but the consequences are not what is expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thestraggletag said:  
> Mermaid!Rumbelle: as part of a breeding program, trying to see if mermaids will breed in captivity, a male for another aquarium is borrowed to be Belle's potential partner, and they get stuck in situations meant to encourage breeding. Belle can't stand it and Gold is wildly jealous.
> 
> Anonymous said:  
> BP & GW: They bring in a new merman to keep Belle company but she is not interested nor is Gold.
> 
>  
> 
> WARNING: There is a scene of attempted rape and violence in this chapter.

“In other news, the Enchanted Forest is getting a new addition this week,” the channel 10 local news was droning on. Gold was only listening to half an ear as he finished mixing the pancake batter and started ladling it onto the griddle. “It appears that the popular mermaid exhibit will be getting a new friend. According to the director, Sidney Glass, they felt that five was too few a number and felt it was time to include a new member to the family.”

            Gold whirled around from the griddle, spatula in hand. What fresh hell was this? No one had told him about this latest bit of news.

            “This is on top of the announcement that one of the mermaid’s, Rosie, is pregnant. Director Glass says they feel that the single female, Lacey, should have a mate of her own. This could mean expanding their exhibit in the future in order to accommodate the new arrivals.”

            New arrivals? What the hell was this? Could Cora actually by that psychotic? He’d known she was greedier than King Midas, but he had never thought he capable of something so despicable. The smell of something burning could very well have been the blood boiling through his veins. Thankfully, it was the pancakes.

            Gold tossed the charcoaled mess into the trash and got out Bae’s favorite box of cereal instead. He wrenched open the fridge and yanked the milk out before slamming it down onto the table, making the bowl and spoon rattle. Bae crept into the doorway and peaked at his father. “Papa? What’s wrong?”

            “Stupid people, Bae,” he growled, “Just very stupid people.”

            He managed to get his son off to school without teaching him any new, never-to-be-repeated, words. Gold immediately got on the phone and dialed the familiar number of Cora Mills. “What the hell are you doing?”

            “My, what a lovely greeting,” she said, “I hope you are well too, Nathan.”

            “Don’t start with me, Cora.”

            “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

            “What are you doing bringing in another merman and just what is this about breeding?”

            “Well they are animals,” Cora reminded him in a syrupy voice, “And I thought it might be good to introduce another male. He’s quite a fine specimen apparently.”

            “You’re acting like he’s some prized stallion up for stud.”

            “I am running a business with these mer-creatures,” Cora reminded him, “breeding is simply part of that.”

            “Damn it, Cora! I know what you are up to!”

            “I don’t know what you mean.”

            “You know nothing about the merfolk,” he growled into the phone, “You think you can treat them like goldfish, but they are so much more than idle pets. Your little scheme won’t work, mark my words.”

            “Really, Nathan,” she said coolly, “You were so much more fun before the plane crash.”

            Gold punched the button on his phone and then tossed it onto the floor. The back blew out, sending the battery skittering across the hardwood. He kicked the mess aside and stormed off to his study. He wasn’t going to stand for this, not for one second.

            After smashing four plates and vase, Gold put his phone back together in order to call Dove and tell him to deal with the shop for the day. He shaved the normally twenty-minute drive down to eleven by shamelessly ignoring all speed limits. He was still in luck that the park had yet to open.

            He was surprised Cora hadn’t hired a ten-foot-tall, ex pro-wrestler security officer to keep him back, like that would stop him anyways. The merfolk were already up and enjoying their breakfast. Only Phillip reacted to his presence, putting a protective arm around his life-mate. Belle’s face lit up the moment she saw him; she eagerly abandoned the rest of her meal to join him at the edge of the lagoon. Her smile fell once she got a clear look at his face.

            “You are not happy,” she said.

            “No, I’m not,” he admitted, “Cora has something absolutely foul in mind for you.”

            Belle wrapped her arms around her middle, swallowing hard. He hated the look of fear that crossed her eyes. “What?”

            “She’s getting a new merman for this exhibit,” he said, “She plans to breed you with him.”

            Belle relaxed her arms, all of the tension draining from her face. “Oh, is that all?”

            “Is that all?” He stared at her. She’d mentioned life-mates before, but perhaps the merfolk were more modern in their relationships than he had thought. Or worse, was she okay with the idea of having a mate?

            “There is nothing to worry about,” Belle said, “She does not understand our kind.”

            “That’s true enough, but I don’t see why this wouldn’t bother you.”

            “We have strict laws about life-mates,” she explained, “A life-mate must be decided together. No one can choose for another.”

            “So you’re saying that if you don’t want this other merman, then he’ll just leave you alone?” Gold asked.

            She nodded with a smile. “We choose our mates. It is a bond that is not meant to be broken.”

            “You’re monogamous,” he said. She blinked at him, tilting her head quizzically. “You only have one mate for life,” he explained.

            Belle nodded again. “It is considered against ocean law to force someone to mate with another.”

            “And you think he’ll just agree with that?” he questioned.

            “Of course, why would he not? He is of our kind.”

            Maybe all of the merfolk were like this: innocent, without guile or cruelty. Certainly the creatures in this exhibit were harmless enough. However, his mind drifted back to Ariel Prince, and her insistence that the merfolk were no different then humans. If that was true, then they were creatures of incredible good, as well as evil.

* * *

            Cora worked quickly. It took less than two weeks for the new addition to the mermaid exhibit to arrive. He was being called “Caesar” and Gold knew exactly who had blessed him with that name. There were posters all over the state advertising his coming. On his last visit, he even saw little dolls designed to look like him being placed right next to the “Lacey” dolls. Subtlety had never been Cora’s strong suit.

            Belle remained completely unperturbed by the entire fiasco. She was so certain that this was going to blow up in Cora’s face. He wished he had her confidence. Worse, he wished the little nagging thought that Cora could be right would leave his brain. Belle had said that life-mates had to be a mutual choice. What if that happened? What if Belle got one look at this “Caesar” and decided he was the merman for her?

            Logically, there was no need for him to concern himself with that possibility. Belle wasn’t even of his species; of course she would want a suitable mate of her own kind. If she picked this Caesar, then all the better for her. It shouldn’t bother him.

            It shouldn’t. It did.

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            There were crowds of people outside of the glass walls of their cage. Children were pressed up to the glass, eager to see the new addition. Belle couldn’t quite understand their behavior. This new merman would be no different then the rest of them. Could they really be so certain that she would want this new arrival as her mate? Her father had already tried to convince her to bond with another merman, but her heart could not be swayed by duty. She would pick on her own terms and no other’s.

            It was a relief to see Gold in the crowd with little Bae by his side. He nodded when their eyes met, but the look on his face was grim. She’d tried to explain to him that he had nothing to fear, but nothing could take that worried look from his eyes. He just didn’t understand. Could it be they were just too different?

            There was a flurry of bubbles, and Belle saw a bright orange tail begin to beat against the water. She and David had agreed to go together to greet their new companion lest he be overwhelmed at first.

            The bubbles finally cleared and the merman blinked at them. He was handsome with long brown hair and a very fine jaw. He glanced at David for a moment, but once he saw Belle he never took his eyes off of her. Something settled in her stomach at his gaze. It reminded her of something, but she couldn’t think of what.

            David held out his hands in greeting. “Hello, I am David.”

            The newcomer didn’t raise his hands to return the greeting. He didn’t even look at David. “I’m Keith,” he said to Belle, “It’s certainly a pleasure to meet you.”

            His smile made her remember what his gaze was like: a shark spying a particularly tasty morsel.

            “I’m Belle,” she told him, flicking her tail backwards just a bit.

            “I can see you aren’t mated,” he said, his gaze flickering down to her arm, absent the band that would be there, “So you must be the one they chose for me.”

            “Well…” she didn’t know what to say. She kept swimming back, but he was coming forward. David followed, the look on his face so similar to Gold’s.

            “I didn’t expect you to be quite so pretty,” Keith said, “I knew they had someone in mind, but this,” he let out a small laugh, “Well this is certainly my lucky day.”

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            Something was wrong.

            Belle had acted so excited before, but now she was moving away from the handsome merman, inching towards the safety of the caves where Aurora and Phillip watched. Even David didn’t look quite so interested in their new friend now. Gold could feel his insides twisting, his fingers curling on the handle of his cane.

            “Papa?” Bae asked, “What’s going on?”

            Gold didn’t know what to say, so he just remained silent. He glanced over where Cora stood, a smile curling her blood red lips. Just whom had she chosen to put into the exhibit now?

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            He kept coming towards her, that hungry gleam to his dark eyes. Belle’s heart beat against the walls of her chest. This was bad. The waters felt like they did as a storm was about to rise, but there were no clouds to charge the ocean now. She could sense the danger as he came closer and closer.

            “Keith,” she said his name as calmly as she could, “You are a merman. You know the laws of the sea. I hope we can be friends, but I do not consent to a bond. We will leave it at that.”

            “We aren’t in the sea now,” he reminded her, “There are no laws here. You have no one else but me. You should accept that. I’ll make it worth your while.”

            “No,” she said, “The laws stand. My father—.”

            “I don’t know your father,” he said, “And I don’t care about the law.”

            He dove towards her, his hand reaching. Belle darted away, her tail beating furiously against the water. By the gods, Gold had been right! What had Cora delivered to them now?

            She felt something brush her tail, so she dove down towards the bottom. There had to be somewhere she could go, somewhere to hide. It wasn’t until her arm struck the glass wall that she remembered there was nowhere. She was trapped.

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            Everyone gasped when Caesar had grappled for Belle before she swam away faster than Gold had ever seen her go before. The brute was quick though, almost snatching her again. When she came to the wall, she looked right at Gold. He’d seen such terror in her eyes only once before.

            One of the children up front pointed and that was all the warning she had before Caesar made another swipe at her. Belle barely managed to slip through, his hand instead slapping hard against the glass, startling all the onlookers. Bae ran to towards the glass, but Gold made his way over to Cora instead.

            “Stop this!” he hissed at her, “Look at what you have done!”

            “You don’t know anything,” she said, “This could be some sort of mating ritual for all we know.”

            “Don’t try to lie, dearie, you know damn well this is not natural. You need to pull him out of there right now.”

            “Don’t be ridiculous. They’ve barely gotten to know each other yet,” Cora said.

            It took all he had not to strangle her right then and there.

            A gasp drew him back towards the tank. Belle had made a mad dive for the caves, but Caesar was faster.

            “No!” he choked out. Oh God, not this.

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            His grip was like a whirlpool, hard and unrelenting. Belle tried to yank her arm free. She shoved up against him, even used her free arm to try and slap him, but that only served to get her other arm captured too.

            No, it could not happen like this. She was not going to be bonded to a vile, grouper like him. She tried to push him away with her tail, which proved to be a mistake.

            His orange tail began to wind around hers. She felt him starting to extend out, seeking her folds.

            Two hands slammed down onto Keith’s shoulders, yanking him off of her. She was free!

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            Gold felt his heart stop when that disgusting monster wrapped up Belle in his tail. He was entirely powerless to save her; bound as he was to the dry land he stood on. He never wished more that he had some means to enter her world.

            It was David who did what he could not. The merman swooped down and pulled Caesar off of Belle. His actions gave everyone a direct answer as to how the merfolk reproduced. A scientist might have found the phallus protruding out of some sort of slit in the scales fascinating, but Gold could only see the repugnancy of the situation. Parents gasped, grabbing their children and covering their eyes.

            “This needs to stop,” he told Cora, the smile gone from her face now.

            She didn’t say anything. Apparently not even she could tear her eyes off the train wreck now.

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            Belle saw David struggling to keep Keith within his grip. The relief of being free was gone now. Perhaps he’d stopped Keith now, but how long could she run from him? There was nowhere she could hide in this cage.

            David let out a groan. Keith had shoved an elbow up into his face. With that, he was loose once again, his eyes on Belle.

            She tried to make another long dive, hoping to get him trapped in the cave. Perhaps Phillip could hold him off until…until hopefully someone stopped this madness for good.

            She felt his lecherous fingers grab her back fin. She made a beat with her tail, desperate to get away.

            Pain shot through her bones, forcing a scream out of her throat that echoed through the waters, beating against the translucent walls.

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

            Caesar had a hold of Belle’s tail, which was enough to tear the breath from Gold’s lungs. The children were screaming now, begging for someone to stop it, to do something. It was far too late.

            Belle slapped at him with her fins. The merman held on tightly, too tight. The delicate webbing of blue flesh tore, the spider web of veins ripping open and sending plumes of blood through the water.

            Screams rang out, children cried in their parent’s arms, but worst of all, Belle let out a cry that no one could hear but him. Her scream echoed in his brain. His heart split in two, it’s beat failing once again.

            “Papa!” he heard Bae shout. That was enough to force him to move.

            He shoved Cora out of the way, grabbing the walkie-talkie at her waist. “Get that bastard out of there,” he snarled into the device, “Do it now or I swear to God I will burn this place to the ground.”

            Cora didn’t try to argue with him. Even she knew better now.

            Phillip and David managed to wrangle the mad creature. Meanwhile, Aurora and Snow have both taken one of Belle’s arms and were pushing her towards the surface, her blood still seeping out behind her.

            He saw a splash, followed swiftly by another. Divers. One of them had a needle attached to a long stick. It was probably a tranquilizer, but Gold wished it were poison. He much preferred the idea of this Caesar being filleted and packed into tin cans.

            Gold made his way toward the ramp with Bae hot on his heels. He could hear one of the tour guides telling the other guests to remain calm and exit out the side, but he ignored them all. The mermaids were all on the surface now. Aurora and Snow were both sitting on the rocks, but Belle, his beautiful Belle, she was half in the water. Her body was lying on the gravelly sand, her tail in the shallow water. She let out gasping sobs as she struggled to lift her tail.

            Gold clambered over the damp wall, tossing his cane to the side. Aurora and Snow looked at him mournfully, but he paid them no mind. His sole focus was Belle. Tears were streaming down her face as her hands reached for him. He took them; give her fingers a gentle squeeze.

            He knelt down beside her, putting one arm around her shoulders to try and get her to sit up. Just then the divers came up out of the water, dragging an unconscious merman with them. If Belle didn’t need him right then, he would have taken his cane and beaten him into a bloody pulp.

            Bae came up on Belle’s other side. His little brown eyes stared down at her tail. “Papa,” he gasped.

            The bright blue fin now dangled limpy at the end of her magnificent tail. An ugly tear sliced through the webbing, reminding him of a weathered flag left far too long on a pole. Belle let out another sob, and he squeezed her hand again. She didn’t have to say anything. He knew full well the horror here.

            Belle could no longer swim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me! *hides*
> 
> And remember, please prompt me for this fic either here or on tumblr.


	11. Checkmate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the attack, Belle receives treatment while Gold forces Cora to make a very important decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said:  
> Black Pearls and Glass Walls Prompt: The aftermath of what happened to Belle (either her recovery/trying to cope in sick bay, or the discussion of what to do/how to treat her since she can no longer swim)

            A steady flow of tears washed Belle’s cheeks. She clutched at Gold’s arm and buried her face into his chest. He knew she didn’t want to look too hard at the damage. For his part, he couldn’t help but look. Her beautiful tail was torn, still leaking red blood into the water. Just seeing it made him want to march over to Cora’s office and strangle the bitch with his bare hands. However, every time he moved Belle’s grip on him tightened. He just held her closer and imagined Cora’s face turning blue.

            Someone had the insight to call for the nearest veterinarian. It was a relief to see it was Doc again, at least Gold believed he would do everything he could to help her. Doc’s face turned white when he climbed over the wall and first caught sight of the injury. “Dear God,” he whispered.

            “Please,” Bae begged, “Can you help her?”

            “I’ll try,” he promised, “We’ll have to take her fully out of the water so I can try and stitch up the wound.”

            Gold gave her a light squeeze and whispered into her ear. “I'm sorry, Belle, but we need to move your tail.”

            She nodded but didn’t look up from his chest.

            Doc moved towards the water and gingerly lifted up her tail. Belle held onto him tighter and let out a whimper once her injured tail was set onto the sand. Her whole body was tense while Doc’s fingers probed at the injury.

            “I’m going to try and stitch it up,” he said, “I don’t know if there is much else I can do. I’m sorry, but we just don’t know enough about their abilities to heal yet.”

            Gold nodded at him. “Belle, he’s going to try and stitch your tail together. Do you know what that means?” He felt her nod into his chest again. “If he does this, will your tail heal? Will you be able to swim again?”

            At last she pulled her face away from his shirt to look at him with watery eyes. “I do not know,” she whispered, “Sometimes…no…sometimes yes.”

            He supposed it was much like the injury to his ankle. It depended on how severe the tear was to the muscle and flesh and webbing on her tail. There was no way to be sure unless the tried.

            “It will be alright,” he promised her.

            She nodded once, but there was still fear shining in her eyes. Doc handed him the same vial of liquid that he had given him last time when Cora hurt Belle. “Two drops,” he said.

            She opened her mouth and accepted the medicine without complaint; then she put her face back into his chest. After a few minutes, he felt her entire body go slack. “Do it,” he told the doctor.

            Bae climbed over to sit beside him and took Belle’s limp hand in his. Every time the doctor pulled the needle through her flesh, Bae gave her hand a little squeeze. Gold counted off the stiches in his head. _12, 13, 14, 15..._ it went on until it finally stopped at 34. The doctor then pulled out a swath of bandages and carefully wrapped up half of her bottom fin.

            “I’m afraid that is all I can do,” Doc told them solemnly, “The stitches will have to stay in place for a few weeks. She needs to keep her tail out of the water until then, I’m afraid.”

            “But won’t she die if she’s out of the water?” Bae asked.

            Doc shook his head. “No, from what we can tell their movement is limited out of the water, but they breathe oxygen just like us. Their lungs have the ability to filter out oxygen in the water, but they can breathe just as well out of it. Since she’s enclosed here, she’s safe from any predators unlike if she’d been in the wild.”

            Gold could think of one predator she wasn’t safe from.

            “Thank you Doctor,” he said, “I owe you for this.”

            “I’ll do what I can, but I’m afraid I can’t promise she’ll fully recover from this.”

            “I understand,” Gold said, “What you’ve done is more than enough. I can handle the rest from here.”

            Doc gave him a small nod, his eyes fixed on the mermaid. “Poor thing. She didn’t deserve this.”

            “No, she did not,” Gold agreed coolly. He sure as well would make sure nothing like this happened to her again.

            He made a call to Dove first so Bae would get picked up and sent home. He had a feeling he would be here for a while and his son have school in the morning. He had to give himself some time for his blood to cool. As appealing as the thought of killing Cora was, that would only achieve in getting him in handcuffs and Belle still in her cage. He had to go in there with a cool head for business. Right now Cora was no doubt scrambling to find a way to recover from this. He had to use that to his advantage.

            Gold was certain he would find Cora in her office. Likely she had several lawyers in various parts of the country all working overtime to try and solve this new problem. He didn’t bother to knock, just walked right in. “Busy?” he asked.

            “As a matter of fact, yes,” she replied.

            “Best put it all aside then and hear what I have to say.”

            “Really?” Cora smirked and leaned back in her chair, “This ought to be amusing.”

            “That was quite a show you gave the children,” he said, “I imagine they’ll be talking all about it for years to come.” Though she smiled at him, her eyes were full of venom. “I can already hear the animal rights activists drawing up their posters and gearing to march upon your lovely park here.”

            “Please, Nathan, don’t play these games,” she said, “just tell me what you are here for.”

            “You’re in trouble,” he said, raising a hand as she opened her mouth to protest, “Don’t bother denying that fact. This is the digital age. I’m sure at least ten people had cellphones fixed on that tank and captured every detail. It may be all over the Internet now. People will want your head for this.”

            “You’re point?” she asked.

            “I’ll help make this all go away,” he told her, “You know I have that power. I’ve got the right pull in the right places to let you walk away from this unscathed.”

            “And in return?” she asked.

            “I want her,” he said, “I want you to relinquish Be—Lacey’s ownership over to me.”

            “And why should I do that?” Cora questioned, “She’s wounded now, perhaps she’ll never recover. I could just put the creature out of its misery and be done with it all.”

            He had expected that threat, but it still filled him with rage at just the thought. “You do that and I’ll bring every suit I can against you and this park,” he told her in as calm a voice he could muster, “I’ll throw myself behind every activist, every politician, I’ll call up God himself if I have to, and see that you are left without a penny. I will burn this park to the ground.”

            Gold took out his phone and pushed a few buttons, smirking at what he saw. “As I said, I can be your ally here…” he turned the phone around so she could see the screen. The headline read _Horror Show at Family Park_ and included a video link for the world’s pleasure. “Or I can be your greatest enemy. You decide.”

            Cora’s smile was gone now, replaced with a jaw-clenching scowl. “I can’t just give her to you,” she said, “It wouldn’t be legal.”

            “Ten thousand,” he said.

            “That’s half of what I paid for her. Twenty,” she said.

            “After that display? You don’t have a leg to stand on. Twelve.”

            “Fifteen.”

            “Done,” he said. He’d have paid fifty thousand for her, but Cora didn’t need to know that. “I’ll make the arrangements. I want her out of this park in three days.”

            “Three days?” she squawked, “What am I to tell the press?”

            “That you gave her to someone who could help her recover from her terrible injuries,” he said, “And do it with a smile. Try and pretend you have a heart for once.”

            “Careful, Nathan,” Cora said slyly, “Petty insults suggest you have the losing hand.”

            “Oh dearie, you think this cards?” he told her, flashing her a cold smile, “You can stack your bets like a gambler, but I’m playing chess, and Cora,” he shook his head and let out a little chuckle, “Your queen is backed into the corner now.”

            She narrowed her dark eyes at him. “We’ll see about that.”

            He knew this game wasn’t over yet, but this was a major victory. He just wished Belle hadn’t paid the price for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now Belle belongs to Gold. I'm sure many of you are happy with this turn of events. Please review and let me know what you think. And remember, you can prompt me here or on tumblr at http://tinuviel-undomiel.tumblr.com


	12. Breaking Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold arranges for Belle to leave the aquarium, and he and Bae help her settle in her new home.

            A press announcement only stipulated that the mermaid “Lacey” was being sent for private care to ensure her well being during her recovery. There was no mention of her being bought and sold to a private caretaker or how there was a definite risk that she could never swim again.

            Once he had Cora’s name on the bill of sale, Gold went to work preparing for Belle. Nothing short of bankruptcy would have stopped him from his goal. Bae was excited. He’d helped clean up the pool area, had even found some pillows with covers that could be used outside. Thankfully, Gold’s pool and built in hot tub were already salt water, so he hadn’t made many adjustments there. The tricky part was transportation. Since her bandages couldn’t be in the water, they couldn’t use a tank like she had arrived in. Instead, the best option would be putting her on a gurney and keeping wet towels around her tale to keep her scales from drying out.

            Gold and Bae were even more frequent visitors now. The other merfolk did what they could for Belle, at first scooping up water with their hands to keep her tail clean and wet, until Leroy hooked a hose up so she could do it herself. They always offered her the best of their food, but her appetite was sparse now. A mermaid needed to swim and right now that was not possible for her.

            “Belle!” Bae cried out in delight when he saw her on her rock. She gave him a weak smile, the best she had to offer.

            Aurora and Snow had accepted the little boy and eagerly smiled back, giving him the customary merfolk greeting. They were more wary with Gold, perhaps just the impression he gave to everyone, though their mates were not circling around them in protection like they used to. Bae clambered over the wall and raced over to the rock to immediately wrap Belle in a hug. Gold envied his son’s preciousness as he gingerly made his way over to her, careful with his bad leg.

            “How are you, my dear?” he asked her.

            “Fine,” she said quietly.

            She wasn’t. He could see her skin was pale and dry, her hair tangled. Worse, her ribs were beginning to show. She couldn’t stay in this cage, not any longer.

            “Belle,” Gold said, “I am so very sorry that this happened to you.”

            “It was not your fault,” she replied.

            “No, perhaps, but I vowed to keep you safe, and I failed. I won’t let that happen again.”

            He settled closer to her on the rock. Slowly, he reached out and took her hand, too dry and slightly cracked now. He’d see about getting something to soothe her skin. She met his eyes again, a slightly puzzled look replacing the sad shine to her eyes.

            “Belle, I’ve been speaking with Cora. The best way I could keep you safe was if I bought you from her.”

            “What?” she gasped out.

            “You’re no longer under her control. She can’t do anything to you anymore,” he explained, “What’s more is I’m not going to let you stay here any longer. I’ve got everything prepared. I’m taking you home with me, tomorrow if you’d like.”

            “I would…live with you?” Belle asked, “You live in the ocean?”

            Gold chuckled a little and shook his head. “No, but I have a pool that will work for you as you recover.”

            Belle looked down at the white bandages that were wrapped stiffly around her fin. “What if I never swim again?”

            “You will,” Gold said, “You can’t think that you won’t. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you swim again.” They had given dolphins prosthetic fins, surely there could be a way to make sure Belle could swim safely once again.

            “So tomorrow…I go with you?”

            “Yes,” he said.

            “What about the others?” She looked towards the lagoon where Aurora was coming out her hair while the men were enjoying the meal. Snow was talking with Bae, showing him some sort of game with sea pebbles.

            “I couldn’t get her to agree to release them,” Gold told her sadly, “I couldn’t risk keeping you here, not when you’re injured. But I promise you, Belle, I’m going to make sure Cora doesn’t do anything like this again. Your friends will be safe.”

            “But not free.”

            He hung his head and sighed. “No,” he admitted, “but I won’t give up until they are. I promise you that too.”

            “Blood promise?”

            Gold blinked at her. “What?”

            Belle took a clamshell and dragged the sharp edge across her palm. A deep red line appeared. “Blood promise,” she said and handed him the shell.

            Gold could list a hundred different types of bacteria on that shell that could kill him. However, Belle was beseeching him with those impossibly blue eyes. He had to ensure her and her friends that they could trust him. He took the shell, wincing as it bit into his flesh.

            “Papa!” Bae gasped from where he was by Snow.

            “It’s all right, Bae,” he said. He held out his hand to Belle and she pressed her palm to his. She looked at him and said:

            _“Water and Sky_

_Hear these words_

_May blood be tied_

_And vows be served_

_If broken oath_

_Should come to pass_

_By water and sky_

_I breathe my last.”_

            Belle nodded towards him now. “You say it too.”

            Gold said the words she had just spoken and he felt a soft heat unfurl between them palms. She let go of his hand and he saw the blood was completely gone. His own hand was also unharmed. It was a stoic reminder of how little he knew about their people and just what they were capable of.

            “I will go with you,” Belle said, “But let me have this night to say good bye.”

            “Of course,” he said, “I will continue to visit them and let them know you are safe.”

            She smiled a little, the first glimmer of a true smile he’d seen in days, “Thank you, Gold.”

            “You can call me Nathan,” he said.

            “Na-than,” she tested his name gingerly, then smiled, “Nathan,” she said it again. He could not deny the pleasure he felt hearing her say his name.

            The next day, he and Dove drove up with Bae in a large van. The gurney was bought from a local hospital. Bae carried the towels and even had a spray bottle full of water just in case. Aurora and Snow both were sitting beside Belle when they arrived. Tears rolled down Snow’s face. Gold wished he could take them all with him, but he simply didn’t have that power. Not yet at least.

            “Belle,” Gold said as he walked over, “This is Dove, and he’s going to help us get you out of here. You and your friends can trust him.”

            Phillip and David both kept their eyes on Dove as he climbed over the little wall and walked over to the rocks. He smiled down at her and her two friends. “Hello Belle,” he said softly.

            “Hello,” she replied.

            “You’re even more beautiful and Mr. Gold spoke of.” She blushed a little at his words. “Now I’m going to pick you up now. I’ll be gentle, I promise.”       

            Belle nodded and lifted her arms while Dove reached down and plucked her off of the rocks. She put her arms around his shoulders to anchor herself as he shifted her so her tail was draped over his arm. Gold pushed back the sting of jealousy. It wasn’t Dove’s fault that he couldn’t care Belle like that. Besides, the pain in his leg was a reminder that it was Belle who saved his life.

            Dove put her down on the cushioned gurney and reached for the straps. “Don’t,” Gold told him gently. She wasn’t going to be tied or confined against her will ever again.

            Bae dipped the towels into the water and then carefully laid them out on her tail. “There,” Bae said at his handiwork, “Now we can go home.”

            “Wait, bring me to the edge,” she asked. Gold looked over and saw the four merfolk were all at the edge of the wall, looking at her. Dove pushed the gurney as close as he could to the edge. Belle leaned over the rest of the way. She pressed her fingers to her lips and touched each of their foreheads in their way of goodbye; her friends did the same. “Goodbye,” she whispered to them.

            She continued to look back her former cage until the turned the corner and it was no longer in view. Bae opted to sit in the back of the van with Belle as they left the aquarium for good. Gold kept the window to the back open so he could hear what they were talking about.

            “…Grace is dying to meet you. She loves mermaids. She told me once that she wanted to be one when she grew up. Oh! And you’ll have a DVD player, so I can show you _The Avengers_!”

            At last, they backed into the driveway. Bae jumped out once the door was open and ran to get the gate. Gold walked by her side while Dove wheeled her into the backyard. The pool house was already open for them and Bae was waiting by the hot tub. Gold had made sure the temperature was cool and inviting for her before.

            “Papa said you could stay in here,” Bae pointed to the tub, “That way your tail stays wet, but your bandages won’t. And when you’re better, you can swim in the big pool with me.”

            “I would love that,” Belle said with a smile. Her blue eyes were brighter than they had been since that terrible day. She was nearly bouncing out of her gurney while Dove lifted her up and brought her to the tub. Bae had one of the outdoor pillows ready and stuck it behind her back so she’d be comfortable, and then propped another one on her fins that lay out of the tub and on the ground.

            “Are you comfortable?” Gold asked her.

            Belle nodded. “I feel…free,” she said.

            Those were the best words she could have said and they had tears misting his eyes. The silence might have stretched on had Bae not taken of his shirt and pants to reveal his orange swim trunks underneath. He plopped right into the tub next to Belle with the remote in his hand.

            “Let’s watch _The Avengers,_ ” he said. Belle smiled and put her arm around his shoulders. Gold chuckled at the sight, but grabbed a pool chair to sit down beside them.

            “How about I get us a pizza?” Dove asked.

            “An excellent idea,” Gold said. The three of them weren’t keen on leaving anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and do prompt me for this story either here or on Tumblr. ;-D


	13. A Glimmer of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle settles in to her new home, while Bae and Gold introduce her to some human inventions and foods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> betweenpaperpages Prompted:   
> Black Pearls: Bae spends a day with Belle and she ends up learning a bit more about Gold through his son.
> 
> Black Pearls: Gold takes on the task of preparing Belle's meals for her personally.

            Belle’s first day in the very tiny sea was very strange. The big glass house she was in was nothing like the ocean or the glass sea she was in before. She could see tall plants that sprung out from the ground like coral, but were big and green like seaweed. She wondered if they tasted as good as seaweed, but wasn’t sure if it would be right to ask to try one. Bae had stayed with her while Gold had made arrangements for their dinner.

            Bae had taken off his clothes and was wearing odd colored shorts with fish on them. He eagerly sat down in the tiny sea with her. He took a little black stick and pointed it at a black box on the wall. “Want to watch some TV while papa gets the pizza?”

            “What is tee-vee?” she asked.

            “Oh it’s the best!” he declared, “It’s like…well it’s basically…” he scrunched up his face and then shrugged, “I don’t know how to describe it. I’ll just show you.”

            He pushed something on the stick and the black box suddenly went very bright. Belle gasped when she saw humans appear in the box. They were so little, like clown fish and guppies, but they functioned like everyone else.

            “Who are they?” Belle asked. She tried to move closer to see better, but that jarred her tail and she winced at the flash of pain.

            “Oh, that’s Obi Wan Kenobi,” Bae said, “He’s a Jedi Master, and that is Anakin Skywalker. Right now he’s a Jedi Knight, but later he’s going to be a Sith Lord and kill everyone.”

            Belle blinked at him, surprised by the nonchalant way he talked about a mass murderer, though how she knew this Anakin person was going to kill people she had no idea. Then the oddest creature she ever saw appeared in the box. The person sounded like a woman, but Belle couldn’t be sure because she had no hair. Instead she had two tentacles on her head, similar to an octopus. However, she was brightly colored like a cuttle fish, all blues, whites, and orangey-red. “What sort of human is that?”

            “Oh, that’s Ahsoka Tano,” Bae told her, “She’s a Togruta actually.”

            “What is that?”

            “An alien.”

            Belle stared back at the screen. “Al-ee-on? I don’t understand? And why are they so flat?”

            “Oh, because this is a cartoon.”

            “What is that?” she asked. Apparently there was a lot more to tee-vee than she had originally thought.

            “Well it’s not with real people. They are fake.”

            “Fake people?” Belle asked, “Like plastic?”

            “Uh…well…”

            “And how do they get into the box? Are they comfortable in there?”

            “Um…” Bae looked up when the door opened. “Papa! You’re here! Can you explain TV to Belle for me?”

            “I never understood the attraction for it like you have, Bae,” Gold said. The big man with the shiny head had two flat boxes with words on them, but Belle didn’t understand PIZZA what meant. Still, whatever it was, it smelt good. Gold had a tray and she saw that it was heaped with clams, seaweed, and even shrimp. “I, uh, thought you might be hungry too,” Gold said.

            “Yes I am,” she said.

            Bae climbed out of the tiny sea, scampering over to get some pizza from the shiny man. Gold carefully set the tray of her food beside her. She also noticed that the shiny man had a basket under one arm that had plastic bottles inside of it. Some of the bottles had water, but others had strange dark liquid inside. Bae eagerly took one of those bottles and twisted the top. There was a strange hiss that emitted from the bottle, something similar to the sound of lava seeping out from a fissure in the ocean.

            “What is that?” she asked Gold.

            “Just a soda,” he told her, “Normally I insist he have something healthier, but I figured today was a special occasion.”

            “Soda?” Belle looked at it as Bae settled back beside her with his pizza on a paper disk and the bottle of the brown beverage. The color wasn’t particularly appealing, but she could see it was full of bubbles, which was very perplexing. Bae grinned and held up the bottle for her. “You want to try it?”

            She’d always been fascinated by human food, though the pizza looked better than this. However, she rationalized that if it was a treat for Bae, it could hardly be harmful for her. She took the bottle, surprised by how wet and cold it was and gingerly took a sip. The liquid was cold and the way it moved across her tongue was very odd. The bubbles were pleasant though and it had a strange sweetness to it. It was strange, but not in a bad way. Another sip satisfied her that it was quite delicious.

            She enjoyed the food Gold had brought for her. He’d even been thoughtful enough to crack open the clamshells. Neither of them were interested in trying her food, but Bae offered her a bite of his pizza. The white stuff on top was something called “cheese” while the round red things were “pepperoni”. Gold’s pizza had even more things on top of it, but Bae said they were gross. The pizza wasn’t bad, but it was so hot it burnt her mouth. The water helped in that regard.

            Bae was absolutely fascinated by the TV, but Belle couldn’t understand any of it. The strange humans and aliens were utterly perplexing, not to mention the strange boats they used that flew like birds but looked nothing like the planes she had seen. The colorful sticks they used to attack one another was beyond comprehension.

            “I suppose this doesn't make much sense to you,” Gold said to her, waving in the direction of the TV.

            She took another clam and shook her head. “What do you do for play?” she asked.

            “Fun you mean?” she nodded in response. “I’m afraid I’m not nearly as sociable or active as my son. I find reading far more pleasurable.”        

            “Reading?”

            “Books,” he told her, “stories or writings that are made up or based on true events.”

            Belle’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Like conchs!”

            Gold frowned at her. “What?”

            “We capture our stories in conchs. Then we listen to them. We have some wonderful tellers under the sea. They tell our history, or even just adventures of our legends.”

            He smiled at her. “I understand. That sounds fascinating. Perhaps I can find you some audio books so you can enjoy some of our stories.”

            Belle nodded eagerly. “I would enjoy very much.”

            Gold helped Dove clean things up, leaving her alone with Bae again and this “Clone Wars” show he was so interested in. Belle watched Gold limp away with the empty bottles and her tray. She remembered seeing him wounded, blood leaking out of his ankle, the water turning red because of it. He never seemed bothered by the injury, but she saw how much little Bae scampered around. It couldn’t be easy.

            “Does your father…okay with his leg?” she asked.

            “Does it bother him?” Bae asked and she nodded. He shrugged. “No, not really. I mean, he said that he was lucky to be alive, so there was no point in being upset that he escaped with a bad ankle.”

            Belle smiled over that. She was glad Gold wasn’t sad that he couldn’t run or walk the way he used too. As Belle looked over at her bandaged tail, she couldn’t help but wonder if she could accept her lot in life so easily if she could never swim again.

            “Thank you for saving him,” Bae said.

            “You thank me before,” Belle reminded him.

            “Yeah, but you did more than save his life. You made him…better,” Bae said. She frowned at him, not sure how nearly drowning would be good for anyone. “Before the accident, he was always working. I just wanted to spend time with him, but he was too busy. But then…I don’t know, he just changed when he got back. He left his job and actually spent more time with me.”

            Bae then moved over and put his arms around her, pressing his face into her shoulder. Belle stared down into his hair for a moment. Merfolk were affectionate, but she didn’t know humans would do this as well. Her father had always said humans were cold and never cared about any species but themselves. Carefully, she put her arms around him as well, pulling him tightly to her slowly. Bae didn’t mind though. He just hugged her back more.

            “Thanks for giving me my papa back,” he said.

            Belle smiled into her hair, blinking back the tears in her eyes. It was strange, but she wished her father could see this right now. Maybe he could finally make peace with what happened to her mother and why they had both hoped for more than solitude in the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this latest chapter. Please remember to prompt me more!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think. I could explore more of this too.


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